admin
Nqobile Bhebhe, Senior Reporter
THE recent Zanu-PF primary elections which attracted an unprecedented turnout countrywide and ushered in new entrants are a firm confirmation of a vibrant internal democracy that continues to be refined with each election cycle, a feat which the fragmented opposition struggles to match.
President Mnangagwa, in his weekly column, recently summed it up perfectly well saying, “What our Party primary elections have demonstrated and accomplished finds few equals, and certainly no better rivals in the country, or elsewhere in the world.”
He added, “History was made, and who else to blaze the new internal democratic trail than Zanu-PF, the sole Party of national liberation?”
As per tradition ahead of national elections, the ruling party conducts primary elections and all registered party cadres from the cell level have the chance to choose their preferred candidates.
As the country gears for the forthcoming harmonies plebiscite later in the year, on 25 March, the ruling party subjected itself to a gruelling primary election process to select candidates to represent it during the national polls expected between July 26 and August 26.
Candidates for local authorities, National Assembly and Senatorial level were selected in a peaceful environment that drew an unprecedented number of participants.
The primary elections were held on the backdrop of the completion of a nationwide cell/village building and verification programme.
So overwhelming was the turnout that elections spilled to Sunday to ensure that all its members were well catered for by voting.
Selected candidates will be vying for 210 constituencies, 1 970 wards, 60 senatorial, 60 for women’s quota and 10 for youth quota.
During a Press briefing, Bulawayo provincial information and publicity secretary Cde Archie Chiponda said the process went well adding that they were overwhelmed by participation levels.
“We are pleased with the level of participation and this time, we were actually overwhelmed with applications.
“It speaks to how open the doors are in Zanu-PF in terms of access by people who want to put themselves up for positions.
“It’s not easy to output yourself forward because you open yourself for scrutiny from other party members. But it’s an exercise that makes the party much stronger,” he said.
President Mnangagwa remarked that millions of party cadres came out to select their preferred candidates from a broad selection in which all demographics were represented.
During the elections process, Chronicle observed youthful party cadres in long winding queues, patiently waiting to exercise their democratic right to vote.
It showed that the party decades old ideology and its magnetic force still resonate with youth, an issue that President Mnangagwa stressed on.
“We were all struck by the preponderance of youthful cadres among the aspiring candidates, and the intensity of competition for any one level and seat.
“Only a handful of seats went uncontested. All these developments convinced us that the Party has vastly improved on its national, inter-generational and demographic appeal, largely because of its forward-looking, people, youth and gender-focused policies.
“Such a pleasant surprise gave us confidence that our Party, Zanu-PF, is guaranteed to self-reproduce; is here to stay and forever to govern!” observed the President.
So historic were the internal polls that President Mnangagwa said honest and fair-minded watchers might be forgiven for thinking this was the “real” national election.
Real election in the sense that it attracted candidates from diverse backgrounds ranging from the arts sector, mining and the media.
President Mnangagwa said it was a “healthy balance and blend.”
“History also in another far-reaching sense. From start to finish, and in all areas, we saw a healthy balance and blend between mature and young cadres; between experience and growth; between professionals and businessmen and women; between men and women, all canvassing and vying for support to represent the Party at different echelons, and in different communities.”
Observers note that the pull factor is also a show of confidence in the ruling party and growing appetite to further preserve the party’s policies.
Further to that, it demonstrates the party’s long entrenched internal democracy.
“Our sights are set higher: to show the world and especially censorious countries of the West that Zimbabwe is a self-made, African democracy.
“It owes its democracy to itself; it therefore does not need tutors or lessons in democracy delivered by those coming to us from afar.
“It is its own teacher, its own model, the sole guardian and guarantor of its own democratic processes and practices. Indeed, the writer of its own history in clean, democratic electoral praxis,” noted President Mnangagwa.
Posting on his official Twitter handle, Zanu-PF secretary general, Dr Obert Mpofu said the ruling party now has over four million eligible voters on its cell register.
The party is on an aggressive membership recruitment exercise countrywide, targeting to garner five million votes in the upcoming polls.
“Confirmed, Zanu-PF now has more than four million members who registered to vote. Thanks to the cell verification exercise, each registered head has been counted. We are a door away from the five million voter target!” Dr Mpofu said.
With the ruling party having selected its harmonised troops including the presidential candidate, President Mnangagwa, the unveiling of the election manifesto will set a rigorous campaign period in motion.
Online Reporter