Zanu (PF) regime silent on rural district council elections

By Tichaona Sibanda
22 August 2006

The Zanu (PF) regime, well known for keeping its electoral opponents guessing, are back at it again. They have remained silent on the forthcoming rural district council elections amid reports government has no money to roll-out such a mammoth task.

According to the Rural Councils Act, notice for the nomination courts for elections in all the 57 Rural District Councils should have been sent out this week. This would have allowed the nomination court to sit during the first week of September with the elections scheduled in 21 days’ time.

The last rural council elections were held on 28th and 29th September 2002. There is speculation however this year’s elections could be hanging in the balance following reports that some district councils don’t have the funding to run the elections.

Deputy secretary for Local Government in the Tsvangirai led MDC, Last Maengahama, said Tuesday they will be fielding candidates in all the 1600 wards but ‘as usual Zanu (PF) will try to see to it that it does not happen. By law we should have been notified of the nomination court date and the date for the elections by now. But because Zanu (PF) has a monopoly over the elections they’ve kept everyone guessing. By all accounts their party is in disarray so this delay doesn’t surprise us,’ Maengahama said.

Priscillah Misihairambwi-Mushonga, deputy secretary-general for the Mutambara MDC, confirmed her party will also be fielding candidates in all the wards. She noted however the difficulties most of their candidates are facing to try and get their papers ready.

‘All candidates are being requested to fork out Z$2 million for vetting by the police and only two centres, Harare and Bulawayo, have been set up for this exercise. If you look at this closely you will notice candidates from outlining areas like the borders being forced to travel to either Harare or Bulawayo and there would be more prohibitive requirements after that, said Misihairambwi-Mushonga.

Both MDC officials fear most of their candidates will be prevented from submitting their nomination papers as happened during the last elections.

During the 2002 elections, the MDC alleged that their candidates were unable to be nominated as a result of; last minute changes to ward boundaries, new and unpublicised requirement for long birth certificates, intimidation, names not appearing on the voters roll and nomination courts sealed by war veterans.

Misihairambwi-Mushonga added; ‘The voters roll for the Rural Council elections has not been compiled yet and these elections should be anytime from now, so this silence is not about nothing. They are already scheming a way of rigging them.’