Factionalism: A lesser evil than disintegration

By Bernard Bwoni

Intra-party conflicts happen and they are not exclusive to the Zimbabwean political playing field. People in any grouping may share the same ideology but have some variations in some aspects. That is normal and often such variations are easily covered by group rules and regulations. However the internal party politics can lead to full blown factionalism and the negative outcome is that of party officials camping and campaigning to be within the ranks of the leading faction or that faction that has the upper-hand.  At the end of it all the electorate will always come worse off.

Factionalism is a fact of life in political groups. Group members hold different preferences and conflicting views. Political parties are driven by the spirit of faction and factions by their very nature are universal. The end outcome is that factionalism creates that incentive for the political party to align and re-align their political interests. Social groups exist and thrive through conflict and cooperation and this is because they are formed and informed by association of individuals with divergent interests who agree to forego or merge their interests in the common interest for the sake of the party. Factionalism is about power play competing for control of the decision-making machinery of the grouping to their favour. This competitive relationship sometimes creates a communication dilemma which manifests in the intra-party squabbles as being witnessed in all political parties in Zimbabwe. Factionalism occurs when individuals in a political grouping are interlocked in the chase of incompatible goals or outcomes.