Mutambara, a robotics professor and former NASA robotics specialist has replaced Welshman Ncube who was the interim leader of MDC-M after the split. Morgan Tsvangirai did not participate in the Senate elections, while the Mutambara faction participated and won five seats in the Senate. The Mutambara formation has been weakened by defections from MPs and individuals who are disillusioned by their manifesto. , the Movement for Democratic Change has become the most popular, with crowds as large as 20,000 attending their rallies as compared to between 500 and 5,000 for the other formation.