Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Independent candidates running for the Mount Pleasant and Harare East constituencies in the upcoming April 27 by-elections are calling on voters to support former Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa by casting their votes in their favour.
The vacancies in these constituencies arose after former CCC legislators Fadzayi Mahere (representing Mt Pleasant) and Allan Markham (representing Harare East) resigned from their party in protest against Parliament’s conduct.
Mahere and Markham stepped down just days after Nelson Chamisa, the former CCC leader, left the party, alleging infiltration by ZANU PF.
As reported by NewsDay, Independent candidates Nason Mamutse (representing Mt Pleasant) and Ropafadzo Cheza (representing Harare East), who openly support Nelson Chamisa, are now leveraging Chamisa’s perceived popularity to secure victory in the upcoming by-elections. In an interview during the weekend, Mamutse said:
I am contesting as an independent and for now, Chamisa is also an individual. I would have put any other person on my campaign posters but I chose Chamisa because I like him.
Mamutse will square off against ZANU PF’s George Mashavave and Brian Ticky for the Mount Pleasant seat, whileCheza will contest against Kiven Mutimbanyoka for the Harare East constituency.
A CCC faction led by Jameson Timba has pledged its support for the independent candidates.
The other CCC factions, one led by Welshman Ncube, and another led by Sengezo Tshabangu did not field candidates for the by-elections.
The spokesperson of the CCC faction led by Timba, Promise Mkwananzi said the party supported the independent candidates “to ensure democracy finds its way in Parliament”. He said:
We did not field any candidates under the CCC because CCC candidates have been blocked in the past.
In our view, the citizens must vote for the CCC candidates to ensure that ZANU PF is stopped from gaining any further ill-gotten political ground.
Parliament is a platform for democratic debate but if ZANU PF had not recalled our MPs in Parliament we would have prevented it from acquiring a two-thirds majority.
There is a need for people to be represented so that the democratic movement in its totality continues to prevail in its liberated zones.
CCC has been embroiled in self-destructive turmoil since last year. It all began when Tshabangu, a relatively unknown figure at the time, notified Parliament that he was the party’s interim secretary-general.
His actions led to the recall of CCC legislators, senators, and councillors, which in turn triggered a series of by-elections.
Meanwhile, ZANU PF has steadily secured its grip on power. Through a series of by-elections, they have achieved a commanding two-thirds majority in the lower house of Parliament, the National Assembly.
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