Zanu-PF heads for Chiwundura victory

16 Jul, 2017 - 00:07 0 Views
Zanu-PF heads for Chiwundura victory

The Sunday Mail

 

Voting in the Chiwundura National Assembly by-election ended peacefully last night with results expected early this morning, amid confidence within Zanu-PF that it was destined to retain the seat.

The seat fell vacant following the death of former Zanu-PF Midlands deputy chairman, Cde Kizito Chivamba.

Cde Chivamba died at Gweru Provincial Hospital after a short illness aged 59. He was declared a liberation war hero and buried at Gweru Provincial Heroes Acre.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission last night said the polls had been peaceful.

People started casting their ballots around 7am, the stipulated polling station opening time; and by close of voting at 7pm, most stations had cleared voters.

Zec Midlands provincial elections officer Mrs Dorcas Mpofu said they had not received any reports of election-related violence or disturbances throughout the day.

She said the constituency had 340 polling officers, 58 presiding officers, 136 police officers and 12 ward election officers at the 68 polling stations.

Chiwundura had 43 688 registered voters.

“The voting has gone on very well and were held under a peaceful environment,” said Mrs Mpofu. “We did not record any incidents of violence. We also did not encounter any logistical challenges or disturbances in general.

“We closed voting station at 7pm. We are expecting to have finished the counting of the votes by 11pm (last night) and we will have a media conference thereafter to announce the results.”

The four candidates vying for the seat were Cde Brown Ndlovu (Zanu-PF), Takura Guzete (National Constitution Assembly, Brighton Mudzviti (Free Zimbabwe Congress), and Webster Zulu (Progressive Democrats).

Earlier yesterday, Cde Ndlovu said voting was proceeding peacefully. “The voting exercise was very peaceful. There were no incidents of violence and we are hopeful that we will win the elections,” he said.

Cde Ndlovu was the first runner-up in Zanu-PF’s Chiwundura by-election primary, but represented the ruling party because former Zvishavane legislator Cde Pearson Meeting Mbalekwa — who had won the internal poll — withdrew his candidature citing personal reasons.

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