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In the March 29, 2008 harmonised elections, Zanu-PF virtually cost itself a significant victory through the destructive “bhora musango’’ protest vote that saw some party members divide the presidential vote between President Mugabe, and Mavambo Kusile Dawn leader Dr Simba Makoni who claimed he was running on a Zanu-PF ticket.
Despite Dr Makoni’s Zanu-PF still managed to prevail against the MDC-T on the popular vote.
In the polls for the 206 contested seats, Zanu-PF garnered 45,94 percent of the vote, MDC-T 42,88 percent, the MDC 8,39 percent and the small parties and independent candidates 2,79 percent.
Zanu-PF members who spoke to The Herald yesterday said while the surveys pointed to a Zanu-PF victory candidate imposition and factionalism would cost the party if unaddressed.
“As the party we resolved at the previous three conferences in Mutare, Bulawayo and Gweru that we will not tolerate the imposition of candidates and I feel that the resolution should be guarded jealously for us to win,” said Central Committee member Cde Mandi Chimene.
“Candidate imposition is our greatest challenge while we should also address the issue of factionalism.
“If we agreed that President Mugabe should be our candidate, then we should all campaign for him. If people fan this factionalism, we will not hesitate to expose them.”
Cde Chimene said while there were allegations of the party harbouring corrupt people within its rank and file, she said; “the party had never condoned such malpractices”.
She said whoever was corrupt and tarnishing the image of the party was supposed to be dealt with regardless of their position and social standing.
Cde Chamu Chiwanza who is the Affirmative Action Group senior vice president, warned the party against complacency.
“We should leave no stone unturned to ensure that President Mugabe and Zanu-PF win the harmonised elections resoundingly.
“We want unity of purpose among the cadres and we should not be swayed by the recent studies that we are going to win.
“Of course we have an advantage against the MDC-T because they have been exposed in the last four years they have been in Government.
“Zanu-PF should use the gin co-efficiency approach which is the study of people’s happiness.
“We have to concentrate on the things that make people happy for instance infrastructure such as water reticulation, roads, health and education. These are fundamental issues that affect people and that are the constituency that we should target,” he said.
Cde Chiwanza said the party leadership was supposed to heed President Mugabe’s call for zero tolerance to candidate imposition.
Zanu-PF member for Gweru district Cde Christopher Gwatidzo, said the party was supposed to reactivate and consolidate its rural vote.
“Our policies are healthy and what is required now is to unite the nation in pushing the pan African agenda like we have been doing all along.
“We should take advantage of the failures by MDC run city councils that have been turned into sewer councils.
“We have an agitated urban population mainly because of poor service delivery and the effects of the illegal economic sanctions that were imposed on our country by the West at the instigation of MDC.
“The party has to explain these things to the people so that they can understand why their companies have shut down in Bulawayo, Gweru and Kwekwe,” said Cde Gwatidzo.
He said there was a need for the party to ensure that the youths and women who were the majority voters become advocates of party programmes.
Cde Gwatidzo said the revolutionary party was supposed to focus on winning both rural and the urban votes.
Zanu-PF youth league secretary for security Cde John Mushayi, said Zanu-PF was supposed to make sure the empowerment programmes it initiated benefit the ordinary people.
“As we go to the primary elections we also want to see a criterion that will allow most people to participate so that the one with the majority vote then represents the party.
“We have to make sure that there is no imposition of candidates because it cost us some (parliamentary) seats at the last elections.
“The party should also be united. We should not rely on the surveys some of which are being conducted by sponsored non governmental organisations that do not want to see anything good happening in Zanu-PF.
“We know this could be a ploy to make us complacent but we are too clever for that . . . we will work hard on the ground to ensure a landslide victory,” said Cde Mushayi.
Bulawayo provincial chairperson Cde Killian Sibanda said for Zanu-PF to win there was need for cadres to heed President Mugabe’s call for non imposition of candidates.
He said the party should also draw a framework that would guide the empowerment of the youths and women adding that the revolutionary party had already made inroads in the province.
Mt Pleasant district treasurer, Cde Jaison Pasade added: “Zanu -PF is a people driven party with programmes that benefit the people. However, we will not relax but continue to mobilise people to ensure a resounding victory.”
In the last harmonised elections, Zanu-PF fielded more than one candidate in five constituencies while four candidates withdrew at the last minute.
Several recent surveys have given Zanu-PF the edge over its coalition government partner, the MDC-T.
A survey commissioned by Freedom House, a US-based think-tank revealed that the revolutionary party’s popularity among Zimbabweans was increasing while that of its main rival, MDC-T was plummeting.
The survey results contained in a report titled “Change and ‘New’ Politics in Zimbabwe” conducted by a local research institute, Mass Public Opinion Institute said MDC-T support had fallen from 38 percent to 20 percent between 2010 and last year.
In contrast, the survey data points to Zanu – PF having experienced a growth in popular support, moving from 17 percent to 31 percent in the same period across all the country’s 10 provinces.
For example in Harare, MDC-T support declined from 50 percent in 2010 to 17 percent, while that for Zanu-PF rose from eight percent to 22 percent.
In Bulawayo, Zanu-PF increased its support from four percent to 15 percent, while that for MDC-T declined from 51 percent to 29 percent.
Zanu-PF’s support was premised on its clarity on policies such as land, indigenisation and foreign interference in Zimbabwe.
Fifty-two percent of the respondents also said they trusted Zanu-PF compared to 39 percent for MDC-T.
In September last year, a UK-based pro-MDC-T group, Zimbabwe Vigil, said the MDC-T was likely to lose the forthcoming harmonised elections because of rampant corruption within its top leadership among other issues.
The Afro barometer survey, entitled “Voting Intentions in Zimbabwe: A Margin of Terror?”, also put Zanu-PF ahead of MDC-T.
It said 32 percent of the 2400 Zimbabweans sampled said if an election had been called in July this year, they were going to vote for President Mugabe of Zanu PF, while 31 percent would go with Mr Tsvangirai.
The survey further gives Professor Welshman Ncube, leader of the smaller formation of MDC a paltry 1 percent.
Compared to the 2008 survey, the MDC-T plunged from the 57 percent support it enjoyed then to 31 percent while Zanu PF ascended significantly from 10 percent to 31.
University of Zimbabwe law lecturer Professor Lovemore Madhuku also says the revolutionary party will win the plebiscite while the British paper, The Guardian, has predicted that President Mugabe and Zanu-PF will romp to victory in the harmonised elections.
The paper said Zanu-PF would ride on President Mugabe’s great popularity to seal victory. In a piece dated Tuesday March 26 2013 and titled ‘’Even Zimbabwe’s constitution waits for Mugabe to pass the baton, or pass away’’ the Guardian’s writer Simon Allison said Zanu-PF was managing its politics well, way ahead of the MDC-T and other opposition parties.
Online Reporter