COMMENT: People should not allow to be divided by elections

THE ruling Zanu-PF party yesterday held provincial elections across the country with leadership emphasising the importance of unity as cadres contested for various positions.

In the run-up to the provincial elections, there have not been incidents of old, before the coming in of President Mnangagwa as leader of the party, where chaos characterised the run-up to and the actual polls.

After coming into power, President Mnangagwa has preached unity among the party faithful highlighting that Zanu-PF is a big pocket that can accommodate everyone in its structures hence no one is able to put the party in their pockets.

In this, the President was reminding cadres of the supremacy of the party over any other personal ambitions or narrow interests.

While contesting each other for the different positions, the party cadres are reminded that they remain one and bound by the collective vision and aspirations of the organisation.

After the polls, the work starts towards preparing for the 2023 elections as a united front as there are no losers in an internal poll because the interests of the party and everyone who is a member remain the same. No time should be wasted on petty or egotistical wars.

Zanu-PF Secretary for Administration, Cde Obert Mpofu, said the will of the people should prevail in the provincial elections adding that the party has put systems in place to ensure there are no electoral irregularities.

“We expect peaceful elections. Zanu-PF is a very popular party. You can see the heightened activities throughout the country just to show how democratic the party is and the desire of the members to be part of the administration of the ruling party,” said Cde Mpofu.

“We are monitoring the situation very closely and we are convinced that this is the way to go. We are also saying people should not allow to be divided by the elections but after the elections losers and winners should shake hands and start working together to build the party.

We should be very united after the elections as we confront the common enemy which is poverty and underdevelopment,” said Cde Mpofu.

He said Politburo members have been deployed to manage and ensure the elections are free and fair. The electoral processes and the party will not tolerate any misconduct.

“We will not condone any irregularities and if any are identified corrective action will be taken. The election results must reflect the people’s will,” said Cde Mpofu.

He said aspiring provincial executive members should be prepared to be the servants of the people who work to uplift the lives of the people they lead.

Cde Mpofu said the vibrancy among all demographic groups participating in the polls shows that Zanu-PF is a party for the future.

Newly-appointed Politburo member for Matabeleland North Cde Alice Dube said in the party’s internal polls there are no losers.

“This is an internal election and we expect party members to be free to exercise their rights. We also want everyone to accept the results of the election because in Zanu-PF there is no loser. We are just selecting the best persons for this particular period.

We therefore, don’t expect the polls to divide us as we are fast approaching the 2023 elections where we have to work as a united people for President Mnangagwa to have five million votes,” said Cde Dube.

She said the elected provincial executive members should drive the party’s agenda of transforming the country to an upper middle-income economy by 2030.

“They should drive President Mnangagwa’s 2030 vision so that Government implements projects that will uplift communities.

The provincial executive members should understand that the President wants people who would work for the people so we expect them to be fully committed in implementing party programmes,” she said.

Following President Mnangagwa’s ascendancy to the helm of Zanu-PF, the party has re-organised itself, raising the prospects of making more gains in the 2023 elections while the opposition parties continue to bicker and fragment into tiny factions.

The Zanu-PF internal polls therefore, are a chance for the ruling party to show that they are the most organised, united and orderly political organisation in the country that can transform the lives of Zimbabweans.