10 MDC provinces disown senate candidates

By Lance Guma
25 October 2005

A total of 10 out of 12 Movement for Democratic Change provinces have said they did not submit candidates for the senate poll nominations and that those who did so were imposters bussed in at the last hour. Last Maengahama the Secretary for Harare province says ‘there was neither a primary election nor a meeting at which anyone was chosen by consensus or nominated by anyone in the structures for the candidature of the senate’.

He says ‘political adventurers’ were bussed in from Mashonaland East to register in Harare’s constituencies. Particularly worrying says Maengahama is that some of the candidates were allegedly driven into the city by Central Intelligence operatives just a few minutes before the close of nomination at 4pm. Shakespeare Maya, Alois Mudzingwa and Frank Chamunorwa all put their names forward despite being ‘strangers’ in the Harare Province structures.

Other provinces took their cue from Harare and voiced their disapproval of the candidates who put their names forward. Chitungwiza, Mashonaland West, Central, and East, Manicaland, Masvingo, both Midlands South and North, and Matabeleland North have all stated they did not conduct primary elections and have resolved to ignore the campaign for the senate. Patrick Kombayi spokesperson for Midlands South voiced similar sentiments saying the province firmly backs the party president.

Observers point out that to have 27 rebel candidates nominated with the collusion of the Zimbabwe Electoral Court was always going to be easy, selling themselves to a disinterested electorate is going to be the hard part. Those in favour of participating say they do not want to concede political space to Zanu PF and believe it should be challenged at the polls. Morgan Tsvangirai on the other hand says the poll is meant to consolidate Mugabe’s grip on power and the Z$250 billion to be spent should be used to pay better salaries for civil servants.