20110429
reuters

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (Reuters) - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai tried to breathe new life into his floundering MDC party on Friday with plans for a leadership shake-up and a rousing speech in which he called his rivals "oppressors".

Tsvangirai is seeking to strengthen his party's base as he prepares for another campaign to unseat Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe in elections, expected this year or next.

"The MDC will win the next elections and we will form the next government and we will take Zimbabwe into a new era of peace, prosperity, dignity and hope," Tsvangirai said at a

congress of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Mugabe, forced into the unity government with Tsvangirai after a disputed election in 2008 marred by violence, has called for a fresh vote this year.

MDC officials have said a vote this year would violate terms of the unity government, end a nascent recovery and could lead to a bloodbath reminiscent of the 2008 vote.

Tsvangirai, whose leadership is not being challenged, aims to use the two-day congress to reshuffle senior posts, heal a party hit by internal fights and reassure supporters he is still capable of ending Mugabe's three decades in office, MDC officials said.

"Each of us has felt the weight of the oppressor's baton or the feel of his fist or booted feet. We carry the emotional scars from grieving for our fallen comrades and the trauma of seeing the sacrifices of our liberation heroes desecrated on the altar of political plunder and exploitation," Tsvangirai said.