{{Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai batted away calls for him to resign on Wednesday and announced a shadow cabinet, vowing to keep veteran President Robert Mugabe’s regime in check.}}<\/p>\n
Tsvangirai scoffed at “irresponsible” calls for him to step down after failing to beat Mugabe for the third time in July elections that were overshadowed by rigging allegations.<\/p>\n
“It’s a betrayal of the people’s aspirations. I was elected by the party congress and the next congress will be in 2016.”<\/p>\n
“I don’t intend to stay a day longer beyond my mandate but I am not going to step down because a newspaper is saying I should step down or because Zanu-PF is saying I should step down.”<\/p>\n
Tsvangirai said he and the newly named 21-member shadow cabinet was focused on “keeping the government of Mr Mugabe on its toes and ensuring that it meets its commitments to the people of Zimbabwe”.<\/p>\n
Most of the members of the shadow cabinet were ministers in a power-sharing government with Mugabe.<\/p>\n
They include former finance minister Tendai Biti, former information minister Nelson Chamisa and detained party deputy chairperson Morgan Komichi.<\/p>\n
“Our shadow cabinet is not an exact mirror of Mr Mugabe’s bloated structure, but it incorporates all government functions represented by his government,” Tsvangirai said.<\/p>\n
Mugabe appointed a new cabinet last week after winning another five-year term in general elections on 31 July.<\/p>\n
The cabinet retained members of the old guard of Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party including those who have served in government since independence in 1980.<\/p>\n
Tsvangirai rejected the elections as “a sham” and “a massive fraud”.<\/p>\n
Western powers said the elections were neither free nor fair while African countries said they were free but would not pass them as fair.<\/p>\n
– AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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