Harare, (New Ziana) – The ruling Zanu PF party will hold primary elections next week to choose candidates to run on its ticket in parliamentary by-elections due in February, a senior party official said on Saturday.
Party political commissar, Mike Bimha told a press conference President Emmerson Mnangagwa had endorsed the candidates that had been short-listed by their provincial party authorities, vying to represent Zanu PF in the by-elections.
He said the primary elections will be held on Wednesday next week, after which the nomination courts will sit on December 18 to register successful candidates for the polls from all parties.
“All candidates who submitted their CVs for consideration to contest in the party primaries were vetted by their respective provincial electorate directorate. The provincial electorate directorate sat and considered their suitability using the party’s constitution,” he said.
“The names were forwarded to the national electorate directorate who also forwarded the names to the First Secretary of the party who gave the final approval. So this means all successful candidates whose names were approved will contest on the 13th (of December),” Bimha said.
Parliamentary by-elections for the lower house will be held in six constituencies, following a recall of its legislators by the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) two months ago.
February’s by-elections will be the latest in a series to be held between this month and then, all occasioned by the CCC’s recalls of its legislators from parliament, and elected representatives from local government councils in some regions.
The recalls are a result of deepening rifts in the party over policy, and leadership, mainly pitting CCC leader Nelson Chamisa, against secretary general Sengeso Tshabangu.
Tshabangu made all the recalls, accusing the parliamentarians of having been allegedly smuggled on the party’s election ticket in the August general elections.
The courts have, however, interdicted him from making further recalls.
New Ziana
