SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe
A storm is brewing in ZANU PF following the party’s primary elections held this week, amid reports many of the losing candidates are contemplating standing as independents in the upcoming elections if their grievances are not dealt with.
But there is little chance the party will have time to deal with appeals, as elected party candidates are expected to file their papers with the nomination court on Friday.
ZANU PF national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo said all was in order following the primaries, but many candidates are unhappy with the way the elections were conducted.
At the root cause of the problem is the party’s decision to ditch its own electoral register for the internal selection process, and instead encourage anybody with a national ID to walk into any polling station and vote.
Those with financial muscle abused the system and used their resources to bus in people from outside their constituencies to vote, and this practice was widespread. SW Radio Africa spoke to a losing ZANU PF candidate in Mashonaland East province who told us that even ‘a burial society organization could have organized a better election than their party.
‘I’m not happy with the way the elections were conducted and I’ve told the party I will contest as an independent,’ he said. But ZANU PF has said it will block him filing his papers with the nomination court.
‘I was told in confidence today (Thursday) that the party will send youth members to the nomination court to make sure that I do not present my papers with the court. They are telling me I made my name through ZANU PF and as such there was no way they were going to let me split the vote,’ he said.
Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa told us that, if not careful, the latest flare-up in the former ruling party could incinerate President Robert Mugabe’s hopes of winning the elections slated for July 31st.
Muchemwa said a day after the primaries ZANU PF is being rocked with a cocktail of accusations, particularly the contests that pitted its heavyweights against lesser known figures.
In some constituencies, sitting MPs like Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo in Zima North allegedly bused in people from Chinghai, camped them at different locations and bought them food.
In other areas several big guns allegedly did worse things, like bringing in cardboard boxes already stuffed with votes. Muchemwa explained that the extent of the damage caused by the primary elections will be clearer on Friday after the nomination court.
‘At least this is when we will be able to know the number of people registered as independents, following fallout from the primaries,’ said Muchemwa.