Zanu-PF yesterday held chaotic primary elections marred by violence and vote rigging claims with some candidates’ names missing from cell registers while ballots were not delivered in some areas.
In Mashonaland Central, President Emmerson Mnangagwa‘s shadowy campaign team, the Forever Associates Zimbabwe Trust (FAZ), was accused of vote rigging in Bindura, Muzarabani, Mt Darwin and Rushinga where 27 cell registers were reported missing.
Some polling stations were yet to receive ballot papers by 4pm in the province.
“The way FAZ is conducting elections in Mt Darwin raises a lot of questions.
“How can cell registers be missing honestly?,” a disappointed Zanu-PF member said.
In Matabeleland South, Beitbridge, police were summoned late yesterday afternoon to restore order at Beitbridge Mission where chaotic scenes were the order of the day.
Several Beitbridge candidates slept at their district command centre housed at the Beitbridge Old Police Station command centre fearing ballot box stuffing.
“This is real politics; we slept here to guard our interests,” a candidate said.
At 6am, several policemen were deployed to different polling stations spread across the district with some centres 150km away from the command centre.
Unlike in the past where only the Zanu-PF old guard including senator Tambudzani Mohadi and Metrine Mudau featured in the primaries, yesterday there were youths contesting.
In Matobo’s ward 25, elections were called off because of violence. The violence was sparked by vote rigging reports.
Fear and intimidation characterised the elections in Mashonaland West with scores of people failing to find their names in the voter’s register.
When The Standard visited a polling station at Chegutu Country Club the queue, mainly composed of illegal artisanal miners, was moving slowly with scores of people complaining that their names had disappeared from the voters’ roll.
Sitting MP Dexter Nduna was facing off with Farai Chigavazira.
Source: Bulawayo24
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According to the Ministry of Health, daily situational report the cholera outbreak in the country in 2023 started on February 12, 2023, in Chegutu town, Mashonaland West Province. Learn more
