THE ruling Zanu PF party has launched a “command voting” exercise in Chinhoyi where all cell chairpersons would be obliged to commandeer their members to the polling stations and vote for party candidates in the upcoming general elections.
BY NUNURAI JENA
Speaking at the launch of the programme in Chinhoyi’s ward 13 last week, Zanu PF provincial executive Tommy Mwanza said command voting was the only way to guarantee that the party would win all contested seats in Chinhoyi.
“Command voting will guarantee us to win Chinhoyi constituency. Every cell chairperson will agree on voting times with his/her members,” Mwanza said.
Chinhoyi Zanu PF youth leader Tapiwa Chitate said if fully embraced, command voting would see the party win the parliamentary and council seats in the city.
“With command voting 2018 election is a done deal, we will reclaim Chinhoyi from the invisible (MDC-T MP Peter) Matarutse,” Chitate said.
Zanu PF provincial members from other districts who attended the launch said they were going to adopt the command voting strategy from the command agriculture model in order to win all the 22 constituencies in the province.
But MDC-T ward 13 councillor Blessmore Nyangaira said the Zanu PF campaign strategy would not work.
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“The command voting will not work. Zanu PF people are aware that the political and economic crisis facing the country was engineered by their leadership. They will be rejected by the people countrywide,” he said.
MDC-T provincial organising secretary Wilson Makanyaire also dismissed the Zanu PF campaign strategy.
“Zanu PF had been using force and coercion since time immemorial, it’s only now that they are confessing to it. We are not worried or moved by that. As a province, we will remain focused to bring good governance to the country. We will continue to teach the people of Zimbabwe the difference between democracy and dictatorship, between light and darkness,” he said.
In the 2013 elections, Zanu PF won 21 constituencies in Mashonaland West province while the MDC-T got only the Chinhoyi seat.
Zanu PF later lost Norton to independent candidate Temba Mliswa in a by-election last year following the recalling of Christopher Mutsvangwa.
