Parties set to launch campaigns

this month.
Candidates from the three parties successfully filed their papers with the Nomination Court on Friday.

The three ex-GPA parties were the only ones to file papers for Presidential, parliamentary and local authorities candidates in almost all the constituencies countrywide.
“President Mugabe will launch the campaign soon because we don’t have time,” said Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo.

“Logistics are already in progress for the launch because we only have four weeks before the elections. Now that the challenge of the primary elections is over, the party’s focus is on uniting and mobilising all the democratic forces in the country for us to win the harmonised elections.

“Winners and losers (from the party’s primary elections) should now unite and fight our common enemies who are sponsored and used by imperialists. The interests of the party and not personal interests should be the guiding principle for the benefit of the party.

“We urge our party members, supporters, war veterans, war collaborators, church organisations etc to mobilise the masses to vote for Cde Mugabe, our President on July 31, 2013. We call on all the people to campaign and vote in peace.”

Cde Gumbo said while there were alleged isolated “cases of malpractices, corruption and rigging” during the party’s primary elections, the process was generally reasonable.
He said the cases would be looked into after the harmonised elections.

Cde Gumbo said the huge turnout during the party’s primary elections, “demonstrated beyond doubt that Zanu-PF commands the overwhelming support of the majority of Zimbabweans.

MDC-T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora said his party will this week roll out its programme of rallies.
“We are launching our campaign and election manifesto on July 6. We will advise of the venue as soon as all logistics are concluded. Party activities are already happening in various constituencies and districts,” said Mr Mwonzora.

MDC director for policy and implementation Mr Qhubani Moyo said his party had already put systems in place for the campaigns.
“We will be launching our campaign in two weeks in Binga in line with our theme; “Devolution is the new revolution”.
“We have put together a whole comprehensive policy together,” said Mr Moyo.

Zanu-PF, MDC-T and MDC are the only parties that filed parliamentary candidates names in almost all the country’s 10 provincies. Names of parliamentary candidates from the other smaller parties were sporadic.

For instance in Mashonaland East where there are 23 parliamentary constituencies, Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn filed for two constituencies while Freezim Congress Party and Zanu (Ndonga) are represented in one constituency each.

Zanu-PF Harare provincial chairperson Cde Amos Midzi urged party members who failed to make it in the primaries to work with winners to ensure a landslide victory.
Addressing party candidates and supporters at a rally in Epworth yesterday, Cde Midzi said reconciliation was pivotal for the party to gain all the seats previously lost to other parties.

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“It is not enough to be a candidate, one should go and work together with the constituents because it is those same people who understand each other better. Let us work together with those who were against us in the primaries towards a common goal and use our experiences to bring a victory to the revolutionary party,” he said.

Cde Midzi lauded Cde Honour Taedzwa who withdrew from contesting as an independent candidate in Epworth’s Ward 6.
“Those who will stand as independent candidates will automatically be dissociated from us,” he said.