ZIMBABWE:ZIMBABWEAN PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe's re-election campaign was dealt a significant blow last weekend when senior members of his party came out in support of one of his challengers.
Dumiso Dabengwa, a member of the ruling Zanu-PF's politburo, and Edgar Tekere, who founded the party with President Mugabe, gave their public support to Simba Makoni at the launch of his campaign to become Zimbabwe's next president.
When Mr Makoni, a former Zanu-PF member, entered the presidential race last month he said that senior members of the ruling party were backing his candidacy; however, until last Friday he had declined to reveal their identities.
Speaking at the launch of Mr Makoni's election campaign in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, Mr Dabengwa said it was time they gave way "to a new leadership that can face up to the challenges facing our country".
Other senior political figures to attend the rally included Fay Chung, Margaret Dongo and Kindness Paradza, all of whom previously held senior posts in either Zanu-PF or the government.
The public support given to Mr Makoni, a former finance minister, is likely to give Mr Mugabe huge cause for concern as he relies on his senior party members to drum up support for him in their constituencies around the country.
"The huge impetus for me to run came from within Zanu-PF," Mr Makoni told reporters at the rally. "There is support [ for me] through all ranks of the party."
Zanu-PF members who are reportedly waiting in the wings for the right time to publicly back Mr Makoni are retired army commander Solomon Mujuru and his wife, Joice, the country's vice president.
At a second rally on Sunday Mr Makoni told an estimated 5,000 supporters in Harare that Mr Mugabe had become drunk with power and had abandoned the "people's wishes" long ago.
He added: "Year after year, he [ Mugabe] condemns corruption, even saying he knows some senior Zanu-PF members [ who are corrupt], yet he does nothing about it. Under the new dawn there won't be sacred cows."
At the launch of his election campaign President Mugabe called Mr Makoni a coward for not taking an active part in the country's liberation struggle in the 1970s, and he promised his supporters nothing would stand in the way of another victory.
"Yesterday you were a coward. How come now you have courage? Where did that courage come from? Can people now trust you with their freedom? Let the people's voice thunder across the whole country.
"On March 29th, reject him and dump him once and for all . . . the bootlicking British stooges and sellouts, the political witches and politics prostitutes, political charlatans and two-faced political creatures," said Mr Mugabe.