Gutu West poll opens bigger battle for Parly

Harare (New Ziana) – Campaigning for the Gutu West parliamentary by-election, where the poll was called off in August after the death of a candidate, is now in full swing, with different party candidates criss-crossing the region to canvass for support. Voting is penciled for November 11, with four aspirants eying the seat – the only constituency where the election was cancelled in the August 23 general election after independent candidate, Christopher Rwodzi, died on the eve of the election.

The main battle is between John Paradza, who is running on the ruling Zanu-PF party ticket, and Ephraim Murudu of the main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party. Two other marginal candidates, including an independent, are also in the running. The by-election is drawing unusually keen interest from the two main parties, and political observers alike, as it is considered a dry-run of about a dozen more parliamentary by-elections due before the end of the year.

Whoever is victorious in Gutu West will go into the battle for the other by-elections with their head up, and electorally buoyant. Gutu West constituency is in Masvingo province, a political stronghold of Zanu-PF, which leads many to tip the party to win the by-election. In the August general election, the ruling party won 23 out of 24 parliamentary seats in the province, only losing Masvingo Urban to the CCC. The CCC is strong in urban areas, and Zanu-PF in rural regions of which Gutu West is part – another factor pointing to the latter’s likely victory.

Going into the Gutu West by-election, and others that follow in December, the CCC is deeply divided, riven by an intensifying power struggle between party leader Nelson Chamisa, and his interim secretary general, Sengeso Tshabangu. Tshabangu accuses Chamisa of dictatorial habits in his leadership of the party, after he allegedly sidelined all top CCC leaders, and reportedly arbitrarily picked candidates to run in the August poll, ignoring the choices of the party electorate in some cases. The tussle between the two came into the open three weeks ago when Tshabangu recalled 15 CCC legislators from the lower house of parliament, and nine from the senate, accusing them of being imposters under-handedly foisted on the party ticket in the August election.

Chamisa, citing his higher office, tried in vain to stop the recalls by writing to lower house parliamentary speaker, Jacob Mudenda, to ignore Tshabangu’s instruction. It is the recalls which have resulted in the December by-elections, and the two are likely to reignite their feud over the selection of CCC candidates to run in the by-elections. Tshabangu has already indicated that, first and foremost, all candidates for upcoming by-elections should have his stamp of approval, implying a likely recall for a winner without. This is clearly anathema to Chamisa, who considers himself sitting on an unchallengeable party pedestal from where only him decides on such weighty matters.

As time ticks towards the by-elections, especially the Gutu West one, there is no indication of the two finding each other; rather of each digging deeper in their respective corner. All this is not lost on Zanu-PF, which sees an opportunity in the by-elections to increase its parliamentary numbers to two-thirds majority allowing it to tweak the constitution to its taste. The party fell just short of a two-thirds parliamentary majority in the August elections, and the by-elections provides it with an opportunity for a second bite of the cherry.

New Ziana