The National Patriotic Front (NPF), which has links to Robert Mugabe, has split from its leader.
Ambrose Mutinhiri has shown an interest in returning to Zanu-PF, from which he resigned in March as MP for Marondera to pursue leadership of the new party.
Mutinhiri was the NPF's presidential candidate in the election on July 30. The party had its only victory in the Kwekwe constituency, where it won a single seat in parliament.
Though Mutinhiri claims the party has been disbanded, a faction of the NPF says preparations are under way for its elective congress.
Mutinhiri, who confirmed that he had held a secret meeting with President Emmerson Mnangagwa this month, said in a statement that he had disbanded the party with "immediate effect".
"The main reason for disbanding the party is that NPF has outlived its purpose. NPF was formed as a response to the events and circumstances of November 2017 that led to the removal of the previous government of Zimbabwe, and in our opinion we perceived it to be a threat to national security and stability," said Mutinhiri.
Political observers have intimated that the NPF would struggle to survive in the long run, given the thaw in relations between Mugabe and Mnangagwa.
Earlier this month, at his mother-in-law's funeral wake, Mugabe said he recognised Mnangagwa as the rightful winner of the July 30 election and had accepted the election results.
Mnangagwa also facilitated the hire of a Gulfstream 650 jet for Grace Mugabe, who was in Singapore at the time of her mother's death, to attend the funeral.
However, on Friday, a faction in the NPF disputed that Mutinhiri was still the party leader and also his claims that the party had been disbanded.
Party spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire dismissed as "rumours" claims that the NPF had disbanded. He said it was on course to hold its elective congress.
Mawarire said the party's executive founding committee had in June recalled Mutinhiri as party leader and therefore he had no authority to disband the party.
"The party discovered his serious incompetence and flippant approach to duty emanating from the clandestine work he was doing for the junta government which was meant to foil the growth of NPF as an opposition party," said Mawarire.
"Today we are not surprised that after meeting Zanu-PF president Emmerson Mnangagwa he purports to be disbanding a party that had already recalled him."
Mawarire said that given that the party had representation in parliament and structures across the country, no individual could claim to make unilateral decisions without the express approval of the party's founding executive committee...