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Kennedy Mavhumashava
Three-and-a-half months after resoundingly winning elections under a unifying slogan, Team Zanu-PF, Bhora Mugedhi/Ibhola Egedini, cadres in the revolutionary party are fighting among themselves in the ongoing provincial executive elections.
A united Zanu-PF rolled out a huge, convincing national campaign for the 31 July harmonised elections that gave MDC-T and other smaller opposition no chance. President Mugabe won 61 percent of the presidential vote, while Zanu-PF got more than two thirds majority in Parliament and 1 497 out of 1 940 wards countrywide.
Now, having dealt with the opposition, the comrades have shifted attention to each other as they bid for control of provinces. Senior officials are openly contradicting each other on matters around the provincial elections, while losing candidates and their supporters are highlighting many irregularities in the highly acrimonious elections.
Mr Godwin Mureriwa, an independent political analyst, said Zanu-PF leaders should guard against complacency by fighting each other instead of delivering on their pre-July promises.
“Regular elections in the party are not a negative thing,” he said.
“They are positive because they create and cement internal democracy. But they have a tendency of being divisive. Be that as it may, leaders must be elected by the people, so we have to have internal elections. But there is a need for parties to maintain unity, to shun corruption in terms of vote buying and so on. Zanu-PF went for the 31 July elections united, focused and peaceful. They saw that in 2008 they were not united so they corrected that mistake and won the recent elections. People voted for Zanu-PF because the party had a good manifesto and because of that manifesto, the people voted for them. They have expectations which the party must deliver. If you don’t deliver, our people are so clever they will not reward you. So if Zanu-PF continues to fight, and fail to deliver, they will face another 2008 in 2018.”
Zanu-PF has conducted three provincial elections that have yielded contested results. In Mashonaland Central, Cde Dickson Mafios, the incumbent chairman going into the recent election, is unhappy about the “official” announcement of Cde Luke Mushore as the winner even before six districts had voted. The Politburo has not formally recognised that election. Cde Monica Mutsvangwa withdrew from the Manicaland election on its eve after raising a range of irregularities that, she argued, amounted to rigging the internal poll before it took place. Cde John Mvundura was declared the winner regardless. In the Midlands, 15 districts in Shurugwi North had not voted when Cde Jason Machaya was declared winner against his former deputy, Cde Larry Mavhima.
Apart from the alleged disenfranchisement of hundreds, other irregularities being cited are poor party registers, deployment of voting material and officials, composition of supervisors and inordinately long voting periods, some as long as three days instead of only 12 hours. Fears abound that the chaos could intensify in the remaining seven provinces.
A Zanu-PF member in Midlands said much of the wrangling in the party was because of indiscipline.
“There is complete disregard of the constitution in some areas and I don’t know why a party leader would disregard his or her constitution,” he said.
“The party constitution says ‘no’ to vote buying but we have seen some leaders conducting themselves in a way that shows open vote buying. We say everyone who qualifies to vote in the provincial elections must be given that chance to vote, but we have heard and seen some sending wrong information to certain areas that voting would be done at such a time, when in fact that is not correct. So when people turn up at the appointed time, they find that polling had ended. That is deliberate disenfranchisement of your own people.”
Speaking on the failure to vote by people in 15 districts in Shurugwi North, the party member said Midlands Province deserved a free and fair election and a provincial chairperson with an unquestionable mandate from the people.
“The people of Shurugwi have the right to choose the people they want in office but they have been denied that right,” he said.
“We cannot be Midlands minus a constituency. Whoever is elected in a free and fair election would be proud of being our chairperson.”
He expressed hope that the crucial Politburo meeting set for Saturday in Harare would normalise the situation.
He is not the only party cadre who is unhappy with the conduct of the elections. On national television on Monday night, Central Committee member, Cde Mandy Chimene, said the tussling was so pervasive and shocking that there could be more to it than simple provincial positions.
Zanu-PF last saw such electoral acrimony in March-April 2012 as party members elected district coordinating committees. The Politburo and Central Committee felt that the DCC elections had been so divisive that it took a drastic decision to dissolve them in July of the same year.
Announcing the dissolution of the party structure, President Mugabe said the DCCs had made things difficult for the party only 12 months before the harmonised elections were held.
The radical decision followed resolutions passed by the Politburo and Central Committee.
“We have experienced quite a lot of commotion, fighting for places in regard to positions in the DCCs and therefore we have been looking at what is happening and we discussed that in the Politburo. We are worried the DCC has become a weapon used to divide the party,” President Mugabe said then.
It appears the divisions that characterised the DCC elections did not actually die with the dissolution of the structure. The positive thing, however, said the Midlands Zanu-PF member, was that the party managed to close ranks despite the animosity caused by the DCCs to campaign for this year’s elections as Team Zanu-PF.
In a bid to contain the ongoing wrangling, the party has come up with a number of measures. The Central Committee at its 94th Ordinary Session sitting in Harare early this month agreed to have elections held simultaneously on one day in the seven remaining provinces — Masvingo, Bulawayo, Matabeleland North, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East, Matabeleland South and Harare. A few days ago, the party announced the formation of an ad-hoc committee to manage elections in the outstanding provinces. Vice-President Joice Mujuru chairs it, with National Chairman Cde Simon Khaya-Moyo, Secretary for Administration, Cde Didymus Mutasa, and Secretary for the Commissariat, Cde Webster Shamu, as members.
Politburo members head provincial teams that would ensure that the elections are held in line with the party constitution and relevant rules and regulations. The provincial elections had been set for this weekend, but they have been postponed indefinitely to pave way for a Politburo meeting on that day.
Mr Mureriwa said Zanu-PF must not be complacent, thinking that 2018 is far away.
“People must see development,” he said.
“They want housing, properly planned housing programmes. Farmers need inputs on time. Zanu-PF has to be seen to be making these and more available despite the fact that we are still under sanctions. People are not fools; they see effort where it is. This thing about complacence, that ‘we are alone in power’ is self-defeating because the campaign for 2018 started after the 31 July election results were announced.”
Dr Lawton Hikwa, a university lecturer, holds a different view. He said what, to some, might appear to be challenges, to him, are evidence of democracy and internal power contests that are normal. He said the party must have learnt from the elections in Midlands, Manicaland and Mashonaland Central, so those in the remaining seven provinces should be better-run.
“It’s not bad,” he argued.
“It shows democracy, but the contestation would be condemned if it degenerates into mudslinging.”
He however, said the outcome of elections in which certain districts were excluded from voting must be declared null and void.
“Those are things that are condemnable,” he said.
“It becomes bad when there are irregularities. They must be declared null and void. You talk about those that have been declared winners possibly resisting the elections being nullified, but I think if there is proof of irregularities, I don’t see them refusing a re-run.”
Online Reporter