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Auxilia Katongomara Chronicle Reporter
INDEPENDENT candidates who participated in the recently held June 10 by-elections have conceded defeat saying it was impossible for them to defeat Zanu-PF.
Zanu-PF won resoundingly in all the 16 contested constituencies, 14 of which were declared vacant after MDC-T legislators defected to the MDC Renewal Team.
Speaking at the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) media briefing yesterday, some of the independent candidates admitted that they stood no chance of winning elections.
Ex-Pumula MDC-T legislator Albert Mhlanga, who stood in as an independent candidate in his former constituency and was defeated by Zanu-PF’s Cde Godfrey Malaba Ncube, said it was not possible for an independent candidate to win.
Mhlanga said he decided to take part in the election to observe the voting trends.
“Unfortunately, I contested as an independent candidate. Never ever think that an independent candidate can win an election,” said Mhlanga.
“Some may ask why I decided to take part in the election as an independent. I decided to take part in the election because the owners of the parties refused to go to elections.”
Njabuliso Mguni, another former MDC-T legislator who stood as an independent in Lobengula in a poll won by Cde Maidei Mpala, said people had given him false hope.
“The lesson learnt as an independent candidate is that it’s difficult to win an election because you don’t have structures. In politics, you’ve to work through the structures. When you go out campaigning, people out there give you false hope and it’s not what you get on the day of election,” said Mguni.
He warned other politicians against taking part in future elections as independent candidates without structures.
Zapu representative Strike Mnkandla tore into MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai, accusing him of urging his party to boycott elections without a way forward to ensure that the electoral reforms he is demanding are effected.
Presenting its findings, ZESN said voting had proceeded smoothly in all constituencies.
“Ninety-nine percent of the polling stations where ZESN observed successfully completed opening and setup procedures on time. Observers noted that all polling stations had all the required voting materials such as ballot boxes, ballot papers. All polling stations covered by ZESN observers had adequate polling personnel,” said board member Mmeli Dube during his presentation.
ZESN noted that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was ill-prepared for the election as some polling agents were stuck at polling stations for long periods due to transport challenges.
The organisation said it could not yet say the polls were free and fair as it wanted to make wide consultations in all the contested constituencies.
derick.khumalo