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in various councils unopposed last Friday. The revolutionary party’s councillors romped to victory in Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West and Matabeleland South. The haul could be much higher, but information was hard to come by as the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was still to release the full list of candidates who successfully filed their nomination papers with the courts.
There are 1 958 wards countrywide.
However, information at hand reveals that all 210 National Assembly seats were contested, some of them by Zanu-PF and MDC-T candidates only.
In Mt Darwin South, Zanu-PF won five seats uncontested, while the others are in Rushinga and Muzarabani.
Six Zanu-PF candidates in Hurungwe’s 26 rural wards were duly elected councillors after their papers sailed through uncontested during a Nomination Court that sat in the Hurungwe Rural District Council boardroom.
By close of the nomination court at 4pm, no papers had been filed at the court contesting Zanu-PF candidates in wards 2, 3, 19, 20, 21 and 22, all in Hurungwe East.
Said Zanu-PF Mashonaland Central provincial chairman Cde Dickson Mafios: “Information we have is that 15 of our candidates won unopposed after the other parties failed to nominate candidates to contest in the polls. The seats are in Mt Darwin South, parts of Rushinga and Muzarabani.
“We are geared for the polls and this time around we are going to retain all seats even those that went to MDC-T in 2008.”
In 2008, MDC-T won the Mazowe Central and Bindura South constituencies.
MDC spokesperson Mr Kurauone Chihwayi confirmed that his party had failed to field candidates in some wards.
“It is true that we have some wards that we have failed to field candidates due to various reasons ranging from coming late during the nomination day, while others were turned away due to failure to produce adequate documentation as required by law.”
MDC-T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora was not picking his calls by the time of going to press.
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chief elections officer Mr Lovemore Sekeramayi said: “We are still compiling all the information we have received from the provinces and the information will only be made available when that process has been completed.”
However, Cdes Ellen Kunodziya, Edmore Ndlovu, Clever Zinyemba, Owen Makazhu, Lilian Nxele and Rasiwe Banda won unopposed in Hurungwe wards.
The MDC formations failed to field candidates in five out of 45 wards in Plumtree, leaving Zanu-PF to pocket the seats uncontested.
Sources at Harvest House say MDC-T does not have any structures to talk about in most areas outside urban and peri-urban areas.
Online Reporter