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Harare Bureau—
The MDC-T has withdrawn from participating in all future by-elections in the wake of heavy defeats that it has successively suffered at the hands of Zanu-PF, party insiders have revealed. The defeats have whittled the opposition party’s perceived dominance in urban areas where it now plays second fiddle to the revolutionary party, Zanu-PF.
The opposition party has chickened out of the electoral ring after its humiliating defeat in Chitungwiza Ward 25 by-election on Saturday, where Zanu-PF’s Simbiso Mhike polled 993 votes against a paltry 91 votes scored by Kenneth Chinyaure (MDC-T) with the revolutionary party claiming more than 80 percent of the total votes cast.
Since its crushing defeat in the July 31, 2013 harmonised elections, the MDC-T has continued to play second fiddle to Zanu-PF in local government by-elections that have been held across the country.
The general message coming out of the wins by the ruling party in its former strongholds indicates that voters are no longer interested in the opposition party’s regime change agenda.
This has forced the opposition party to converge and reflect on how to deal with its waning support base, a situation that has seen it resolving to stop from participating in future by-elections.
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora confirmed yesterday that they had withdrawn from participating in by-elections.
He, however, cited an uneven playing field, which he said was skewed against them and was in favour of Zanu-PF.
“We have stopped participating in by-elections. We feel that the playing field is largely uneven. We need electoral reforms; we need access to election material like an electronic voters roll, among other reforms. When the resolution was reached, some of the candidates had already been nominated and therefore appeared on the ballot paper particularly in Chitungwiza,” said Mwonzora.
Despite the MDC-T’s claims of an uneven playing field, the by-elections had been held under the same conditions in which last year’s harmonised polls were held.
In Chitungwiza’s Ward 25 two independent candidates, Cobbern Marwisa and Tapiwa Zengeya, got 63 and 50 votes respectively in an election in which the MDC-T in some polling stations got less votes than independent candidates.
For example, Chinyaure (MDC-T) got a single vote while Marwisa (Independent) got three votes at DDF Seke Hall B. At Seke Teachers’ College the MDC-T candidate polled five votes against Marwisa’s nine.
The Chitungwiza by-election was held following the dismissal of Dr Fredrick Mabamba on charges of gross mismanagement of council funds and property.
This is the fourth by-election in an urban constituency and in all of them Zanu-PF has asserted its dominance either by reclaiming or retaining seats.
In June, Zanu-PF’s Charles Simbi polled 556 votes in Mkoba’s Ward 12 while Fortune Chifokoyo of the MDC-T and Richard Ndlovu of the NCA polled 486 and 64 votes respectively.
Last month in Kadoma Ward 4, Godfrey Mavura of Zanu-PF got 503 votes while Fastmore Mandipota of the MDC-T polled 212 votes.
Zanu-PF has also continued to assert its dominance in several rural district council by-elections that have been held across the country. The most recent one is where the revolutionary party’s Typewriter Chiuswa won in Chivi Ward 14 uncontested after MDC-T’s Tawanda Chitagu withdrew from the race.
It has been the same story in Masvingo province where in Ward 32 in Zaka, Zanu-PF retained its leadership position with candidate Togarepi Toruvanda scoring 861 votes in the by-election held last month.
The MDC-T’s Elias Mutava got 107 votes, while NCA candidate Enock Chikamhi received 62.
Online Reporter