Chronicle Editor
Strategic ambiguity was meant to be a surprise sting. You are hit and you don’t know what hit you.
In military terms, it was supposed to be some kind of guerilla strategy that was used to great effect by revolutionaries across the world, including in Zimbabwe in the 1960s to the 1970s.
Guerillas were, by day, commoners weeding their crop fields, switching the hoe for an AK47 by night to deliver lethal force on settlers and their army.
The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has no structures, no constitution.
To “surprise” their opponents while curbing possible double candidates, the CCC dispatched nomination papers from Harare a few hours before the nomination court closed on June 21.
With the benefit of hindsight, however, the so-called strategic ambiguity meant no strategy at all.
The nomination papers arrived in Bulawayo after the 4pm cut-off time. Also because of the confusion that arises in an ambiguous environment, more than one CCC members filed papers in dozens of constituencies countrywide.
In addition, the Bulawayo High Court yesterday disqualified 12 CCC National Assembly candidates for presenting their nomination papers in the city after the cut-off time
The order means that Zanu-PF has already won three National Assembly seats 26 days before voting.
Cde Tendai Charuka, who was in a two-horse race with CCC’s Surrender Kapoikilu for Bulawayo Central wins as does Professor Mthuli Ncube who was vying for Cowdray Park together with Pashor Raphael Sibanda of CCC. Cde Raj Modi returns to the House representing Bulawayo South.
Originally, he was being challenged by CCC’s Jane Nicola Watson and Admore Gomba of Democratic Opposition Party.
However, Gomba pulled out a few days ago and threw his weight behind Cde Modi. This left two contestants in the race — Cde Modi and Watson — thus with the latter’s nomination nullified, the former sails through uncontested.
The ruling party won 53 wards unopposed on nomination day.
Yesterday’s ruling highlights a fatal weakness of what CCC presented as a strategy. It shows that the strategy is a strategy to failure. It also highlights a deeper crisis in the party. If they cannot put nomination papers in order from June 10 when ZEC started receiving them to avoid a last-minute rush, how can they be trusted to put a whole country in order?
Zanu-PF is celebrating. Their party’s success over the past five years had potential to improve its showing in Bulawayo where the opposition traditionally outperformed them. However, the party’s orderliness and organisational capacity presented it 53 wards countrywide on nomination day and the three National Assembly seats in Bulawayo yesterday.
As indicated, CCC had more than one candidate successfully filing their papers in Entumbane-Njube, Pelandaba-Tshabalala, and Pumula but the party appealed to the court to have them disqualified. If the court rules in the party’s favour that would, most paradoxically and ultimately, work in favour of Zanu-PF.
Now facing minnows in six constituencies — Bulawayo North, Emakhandeni-Luveve, Lobengula-Magwegwe, Mpopoma-Mzilikazi, Nketa and Nkulumane — Zanu-PF is set to win them, taking its National Assembly tally in the province to nine seats.
“Zanu-PF is always on time every time for the benefit of our people. Meeting deadlines is part of our organisational acumen,” the party posted on its official twitter handle yesterday, with a picture of a watch showing 4 o’clock, the time at which the nomination court closed on June 21.
Online Reporter