The Sunday Mail
Godwine Mureriwa
The last few weeks have been hectic for Zanu- PF politicians who were aspiring to represent the party in the forthcoming harmonised elections.
It was indeed a scramble for positions with thousands submitting their CVs for consideration.
Expectedly, there were tensions and controversies around the selection of candidates.
In politics both smart and dirty tactics are ubiquitous and pervasive as people jostle for positions.
There were, and will be, attendant allegations of factionalism, patronage, nepotism, vote-buying, corruption and other vices, especially in the aftermath of the primary elections.
This time around the entrance gate has been widened.
The party’s old guard, women, youths, academics, journalists, the clergy, Government employees, war veterans and many other groups are in the fierce competition to become councillors and Members of Parliament on the Zanu-PF ticket.
The process of primary elections is the cornerstone for intra-party democracy. It is the only way to choose popular candidates and ensure people-centred and effective representation.
Imposition of candidates is outdated and has proved to be costly in the past, especially with respect to the tightly contested 2008 poll.
While the infamous “Bhora musango” phenomenon was seen a scorched-earth strategy to undermine the continued leadership of former president Robert Mugabe, it was also partly a consequence of the imposition of unpopular candidates in some constituencies.
In further retrospect, I remember at some point the late Simon Muzenda saying something like “mu Zanu-PF nyangwe tikakupai dhongi rivhoterei”.
In that context he was emphasising the need to collectively support the party candidate, but certainly insinuating that the leadership had the discretion to choose local government and parliamentary representatives for the people.
In the current dispensation, where President Mnangagwa advocates servant leadership and brands the people as masters, “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
It is the expansion of tenets of democracy like freedom of speech, expression and choice that resulted in the unprecedented increase of participants in the ruling party’s internal elections.
Charity begins at home.
Successful Zanu-PF primaries will inspire the equally numerous opposition parties to embrace intra-party democracy and pave the way for anticipated free, fair and credible elections.
That notwithstanding, it has often been said democracy has limitations, and, if not guided, can lead to indiscipline, anarchy and “mobocracy”.
These are the outcomes that had created systemic instability in Zanu-PF, necessitating Operation Restore Legacy.
In politics there is need to balance dictatorial and democratic practices to achieve unity, peace and development.
In my previous article I made reference to the success story of political and economic reforms by the Communist Party of China (CPC).
The CPC priorities merit-based election and appointment of party officials who have to undergo ideological training.
There have been worrying incidents where Zanu-PF office bearers have insulted the leadership and publicly contradicted party positions.
A striking example is when in the past Tracy Mutinhiri allegedly voted with the opposition to elect Lovemore Moyo as Speaker of Parliament.
A Zanu-PF for the future demands more of principled technocrats and developmental politicians than populists or opportunists.
Having scores of people vying for one post is not only reflective of the materialistic motive, but also lack of institutionalised mechanisms to evaluate office bearers, ideologically train leadership aspirants and educate the masses on the calibre of cadres to vote for. Undoubtedly, there are special qualifications, skills and expertise and experience needed by the current Government, which is focused on infrastructure development, investment promotion, modern industrialisation and general resuscitation of the economy.
Its local government heads and ministers will come from councillors and MPs respectively.
Therefore, the selection/election criteria should be skewed in favour of competence rather than popularity.
For example, the President should have a headache of choosing who to lead the ministries of justice, health, finance, industry and commerce and mining because there will abundant lawyers, medical doctors, economists, and engineers from Zanu-PF MPs.
He should not crack his head over lack of professionals.
In essence, the selective and elective processes for Zanu-PF candidates for the 2023 election should start now.
Meanwhile, the challenge is to collectively accept the outcomes of the ongoing primary elections, fairly adjudicate over disputes, build bridges between winning and losing candidates, unify the masses, oiling the party machinery and gear for a resounding victory in the imminent harmonised polls.
Godwine Mureriwa is a political analyst. He wrote the article for The Sunday Mail. Feedback: [email protected]
