THE turnout during the March 26 by-election was described by many people as dramatically low and this was evident in ward 6 under Bubi district in Matabeleland North province where only 36 people voted.
Polling in the by-elections, in which 16 political parties were contesting, opened at 7am and closed at 7pm but had one of the lowest turnouts in the country’s history.
Rains that fell on the day could have deterred some voters, especially in Bulawayo.
In Bubi’s ward 6, Zanu PF garnered 27 votes and the party’s candidate Bongani Ndlovu is the new councillor after defeating Benjie Mpofu of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) who only had six votes.
In 2018, the seat was won by Zanu PF’s Francis Maposa.
Most wards and constituencies fell vacant after MDC Alliance lawmakers were recalled by MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora in a battle to control the opposition.
When the Bubi election result was posted, many were chocked and were prompted to question if it deserved to be a ward, given the low voter turnout. They also wanted to know the number of people registered in that ward and what possibly could have happened to cause such levels of voter apathy.
Speculation was rife that since Bubi is a resettlement area, some voters were afraid of voting “wrongly”, so they chose to stay away to avoid losing their land while others claimed several people in the area lived in towns or cities, hence they voted from there.
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The low participation in the by-elections was not ccnfined to Bubi, it affected many constituencies across the country which may be a result of dwindling trust in political leaders and governance in the country.
It is disappointing to note that an “entire” ward had only 36 people who cast their votes.-Worried voter
Mwonzora, the modern-day Morris Nyathi, buried THE recently held by-elections have buried President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s creation MDC as he wanted to face a weaker opponent in the 2023 elections.
Zanu PF’s machinations to destroy what the people built is a public secret.
The people have rejected Zanu-PF’s puppet masquerading as the official opposition party.
Zimbabwe’s smaller opposition party MDC Alliance led by Douglas Mwonzora received a rude awakening after performing dismally in the by-elections held on Saturday, which ironically he caused after recalling members of Parliament and councillors sympathetic to Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa.
Mwonzora and Zanu PF tormented Chamisa, calling him a crybaby who is partyless and without any place to conduct political business from. They did not realise that Chamisa is the people’s choice.
Mwonzora started showing signs of political sterility and menopause in 2020.
Those who contested under his party were trounced, mostly getting single-digit votes.
However, there were some MDC Alliance supporters who remained neutral.
They did not bother to cast their votes because they felt duped and conned by the likes of Mwonzora, Morgen Komichi and Elias Mudzuri into believing that they were a strong political outfit. Come 2023, they will vote for CCC.
What an appetiser it was. This election has also been used as a dry run to measure the performance of the country’s two biggest political parties, CCC and Zanu PF.
Zanu PF thought it would win all the seats to prove that Mnangagwa is the best, but this has worsened and dented his chances of winning in next year’s harmonised elections. Zanu PF is slowly dismantling.
It is time to observe a minute of silence in remembrance of the former labour party, MDC-T, which gave Zanu PF sleepless nights for the past 22 years. After being launched on September 1, 1999, MDC was buried on Saturday March 26, 2022.
The one time pride of many democratic Zimbabweans died a painful and shameful death after being sold to a poor ageing revolutionary party.- Leonard Koni
Events in Ukraine concern for all humankind
FOR the past few weeks, the world has watched in disgust the merciless killing of innocent civilians including children in Ukraine by the Russian army.
I hope and pray that sanity will one day prevail and Russian President Vladimir Putin will realise that he can kill thousands of Ukrainians but won’t kill their determination to defend their country, and withdraw his troops from Ukraine.
His people are against the war and he has resorted to suppressing dissent by banning anti-war demonstrations.
I do not want to draw parallels, but I watch with anger the brutal suppression of the political rallies for the newly-formed CCC in Zimbabwe by the Zanu PF government. Last week a member of an apostolic faith church (Madzibaba VeShanduko) was brutally assaulted by the police, his crime? Wearing yellow attire, the colour of the new party.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s documented involvement in the massacre of the Ndebele people in the 1980s is common knowledge. He is as brutal and ruthless as they come, contrary to his claims that he is “as soft as wool”. His hunger for power makes him use unbridled force to suppress anyone he views as a threat.
Political violence in Zimbabwe is cyclical, everytime there are elections, members of the opposition are brutalised, maimed or killed.
Typically, Zanu PF has resorted to violence to coerce people to support it. It underestimated the support CCC would garner after its formation. In less than three months since its formation, the party’s support has surprised everyone in Zanu PF. They thought they had decapitated the opposition in Zimbabwe after orchestrating the disintegration of the once mighty Movement for Democratic Change.
CCC is a citizens movement which is set to win the 2023 general elections all things being equal, and my plea to the international community is that it should make sure Zanu PF does not steal the election lest we have a mini-Putin this side of the globe.
Unlike Russia’s Putin who is waging a war against a neighbouring country while ruthlessly suppressing dissent at home, Mnangagwa uses all his mighty force against his own people making the August 2018 and January 2019 killing of innocent civilians look like child’s play.
While we commiserate with the people of Ukraine, the world must not lose sight of what is happening elsewhere where Putin’s copcats are in power.-Petty Ziramba
