Gibson Mhaka [email protected]
ZANU-PF has won Ward 18 of Hwange Rural District Council after its candidate, Cde Nkosilathi Mkandla, polled 326 votes in Saturday’s by-election, wresting the seat from the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).
Independent candidates Cde Thadeos Lafunga and Mr Raymond Ndlovu polled 194 and 103 votes respectively.
According to results announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), Cde Mkandla secured the highest number of votes to win the vacant council seat.
The by-election was held following the death of the incumbent councillor, Mr Stanley Torima, resulting in the declaration of the seat as vacant.
Voting was conducted at four polling stations in Ward 18, where Cde Mkandla faced the two independent candidates.
The result comes against the backdrop of another Zanu-PF victory in a local authority by-election held in Bulawayo on the same day.
In Bulawayo, the ruling party’s candidate, Cde Mathias Tsikira, won the Ward 1 council by-election, defeating CCC candidate Mr Mduduzi Sibanda and independent candidate Mr Shepherd Sithole.
Cde Tsikira’s campaign focused largely on service delivery and community development, with initiatives including the drilling of boreholes at Khumalo Flats and Northend forming part of his campaign activities.
The Ward 1 seat became vacant after former councillor Josiah Mutangi was removed from office following an independent tribunal’s finding of misconduct. The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works subsequently declared the seat vacant, paving the way for the by-election.
The two results highlight recent contests for local authority seats in which Zanu-PF candidates have emerged victorious.
The victories in Ward 18 of Hwange Rural District Council and Ward 1 in Bulawayo also come as Zanu-PF continues to strengthen its presence in local authority structures, with service delivery and community development featuring prominently in its campaigns.
