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The full complement of Zanu-PF provincial, youth and women’s league chairpersons is now in place following the Saturday elections in seven provinces that were outstanding after three had held theirs early last month.It is basically as-you-were as seven chairmen were retained and only three new ones elected after the final round at the weekend. Cdes
Callistus Ndlovu, Andrew Langa, Ray Kaukonde, Amos Midzi and Richard Moyo were returned in Bulawayo, Matabeleland South, Mashonaland East, Harare and Matabeleland North provinces respectively. Cdes Callisto Gwanetsa and Temba Mliswa are the new chairmen for Masvingo and Mashonaland West. Earlier, Cdes Jason Machaya, John Mvundura and Luke Mushore, another of the three new faces, had been elected in Midlands, Manicaland and Mashonaland Central correspondingly. Cdes Ndlovu and Mvundura had not been elected originally but appointed, so they have weightier mandates this time. The 10 lead their provinces to the party’s 14th Annual National People’s Conference in Chinhoyi, Mashonaland West next week.
Cde Mliswa, the youngest of them at 42 and a relative upstart in the Zanu-PF hierarchy, shocked many when he got the better of two former provincial chairmen, Cdes Phillip Chiyangwa and John Mafa, the incumbent before Saturday.
It was another strong demonstration of democratic credentials, administrative acumen and experience for the revolutionary party to hold the polls simultaneously in seven provinces, and again upholding the secret ballot. Coming as they did four weeks after tumultuous polls in Manicaland, Midlands and Mashonaland Central, the weekend elections highlight the ability by the party to always rebound from setbacks.
Logistically, holding an internal election in this manner poses challenges and indeed a number of them were noted – late delivery of voting material, inadequate transport, inaccurate registers and resultant complaints – but, by and large the elections must pass the credibility test.
We saw this capability when the party held its primary elections in one day on 26 June, only two days prior to the sitting of nomination courts to accept prospective candidates for the 31 July general poll. It was indeed a general election of sorts for the party as it used polling stations normally used in national polls. These three points – democratic credentials, administrative acumen and experience – among others, set the revolutionary party apart from the rest as some of its rivals held marathon, chaotic and inconclusive primaries over three months.
We congratulate the party for conducting the credible elections and congratulate the elected who, if the Politburo confirms their respective elections, would steer the party at that level for the next three years. The superior party organ has already endorsed more contentious elections; therefore we don’t expect anything to the contrary this time. So we congratulate them in advance.
True to their divisive nature, the Saturday elections caused a few fissures and disagreements. Now is the time for the party to get back together and move forward. As the party in Government Zanu-PF should refocus on delivering and move out of the electioneering mode. The Zimbabwe Agenda for Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim Asset) is in place awaiting resolute attention from the party, Government and the people. So-called losers only came second, third or fourth best whereas “winners” did not beat anyone; they simply received the highest or higher number of votes.
In the euphoria of victory, those who came first might have no time to listen to complaints of irregularities being made by those they out-competed. Already, Cde Ailes Baloyi is refusing to concede in Masvingo, following Cdes Monica Mutsvangwa and Larry Mavhima in
Manicaland and Midlands who also protested. Cdes Mavhima and Mutsvangwa petitioned the Politburo seeking the setting aside of the elections but since the results were confirmed, their complaints automatically fell away.
We have not been favoured with specific, detailed areas of concern for Cdes Mavhima, Mutsvangwa and Baloyi, but we understand that in some cases whole party districts failed to vote and some voting lists were tampered with. At Mudavanhu Primary School in Masvingo, two voters’ registers turned up at the weekend but voting still went on. We do not know which one of the lists was used. In Mhangura, Mashonaland West, violence broke out as prospective voters were angry that their names were missing on the roll.
While, in our opinion, the complaints are not as significant as to discredit the outcomes, they have to be addressed. The party should reassure the plaintiffs that their cases are worthwhile and then arbitrate over them most responsibly. It must be clear to everyone concerned that irregularities, if they exist, are being addressed and thereafter valuable lessons are drawn for a stronger culture of intra-party democracy in Zanu-PF.
Apart from the procedural complaints made, one important area of concern is that; once again no woman was elected to chair any province. In fact, out of the 30 or so cadres who contested for the most senior provincial post, we estimate that only one was female – Cde Mutsvangwa. It was a men’s race to head the main wing of the party as if the main wing is a men’s wing. We appreciate that more women would join provincial executive committees through the Women’s League and other portfolios. Nonetheless, we expected incremental advances in women being directly elected to senior political levels; five months after the harmonised elections saw more women securing seats in parliament through proportional representation that reserved 60 seats for them.
Online Reporter