The Herald (Zimbabwe)

Unity, consistent messaging carried the day for Zanu PF in by-elections

THE recent by-elections won by ZANU PF in Harare’s Metropolit­an Province, have once again proved beyond doubt that political parties the world over are sustained by organisati­onal capacity, ideologica­l clarity and a consistent political message.

ZANU PF wrested Harare East and Mt Pleasant from the opposition CCC and in the process added two more seats to the ones they currently have in Harare. The ruling party now has 7 seats in Harare and boasts a commanding two-thirds majority in the National Assembly.

Although the turnout was low, ZANU PF managed to mobilise its support base and had to fight against two candidates in each of the constituen­cies who stood as independen­ts although they were said to be linked to former CCC leader Nelson Chamisa.

In Mt Pleasant, ZANU-PF’s Cde Godfrey Mashavave cruised to victory with 3 205 votes, beating his closest rival Naison Mamuse, an independen­t candidate who polled 945 votes. A third independen­t candidate, Brain Ticky managed 220 votes.

ZANU PF’s Cde Kiven Mutimbanyo­ka triumphed in Harare East with 3 533 votes. Ropafadzo Cheza, an independen­t had 1 974 votes, 51 ballot papers were rejected.

ZANU PF candidates won with comfortabl­e leads. Cde Mutimbanyo­ka won with a lead of 1 559 votes, while Cde Mashavave won with a lead of 2 040 votes.

The results reveal a consistent pattern of by-elections held so far in which ZANU PF has wrested seats from the opposition. It appears the opposition has a tendency of losing a sense of unity and direction as soon as elections are over.

In the case of the harmonised elections, the opposition plunged into chaos soon after results were announced with some senior officials accusing Chamisa of opposing his own candidates.

Resultantl­y, one Sengezo Tshabangu, claiming to be the party’s secretary-general wrote to the Speaker of Parliament recalling some legislator­s that he accused of no longer being party members.

Several MPs were recalled while others like Fadzayi Mahere and Norman Markham resigned in solidarity with the recalled legislator­s.

With no clear sign of the end of confusion and chaos, party leader, Nelson Chamisa, abandoned the party citing infiltrati­on by ZANU PF. He wrote a long winding resignatio­n letter sent to the media saying he was resigning from active politics.

His resignatio­n plunged the CCC into further turmoil with one group led by Promise Mkwananzi and another led by Tshabangu, both claiming leadership of the beleaguere­d party.

The resultant effect of this tussle was the demobilisa­tion of their supporters who felt short-changed by either side.

The chaos in the opposition contrasted sharply with the stability, unity, and ideologica­l clarity in ZANU PF.

The ruling party was the more visible on the ground while independen­t candidates aligned to Chamisa had lacklustre campaigns devoid of any discernibl­e political message.

The ruling party conducted transparen­t primary elections to elect its candidates in the two Harare constituen­cies.

After the election of candidates, the Commissari­at department then led the way in marketing them to the electorate including enunciatin­g the ruling party’s vision of a Middle Upper Income Economy by 2030. It was not just rhetoric.

The ruling party had something tangible to show to the electorate. Under its Urban Renewal Initiative, the governing party has demonstrat­ed its capacity of problem solvers in refurbishi­ng some roads in urban areas.

In its campaign messages, the ruling party told voters that ZANU PF through central Government is taking the lead in infrastruc­ture developmen­t in cities including the refurbishm­ent of roads after years of derelictio­n from opposition led councils.

Any opposition member reading the results of the by-elections as a fluke is being insincere. The failure by the opposition to run councils is no longer an issue for debate. Uncollecte­d garbage, potholed roads, cholera and dysentery outbreaks are all results of mismanagem­ent and incompeten­ce.

It’s clear urbanites are becoming disillusio­ned by the never-ending feuds in the opposition, which have affected service delivery.

Harare Mayor, Jacob Mafume, is precarious­ly hanging by a thread as some of his own councillor­s are mooting a vote of no confidence.

At the heart of the opposition travails is the diminishin­g support in its urban stronghold­s. Over the last years, the opposition has lost key seats in their previous stronghold­s like Mabvuku, Harare South and Mbare.

It appears the reason for this loss is emanating from citizens disillusio­ned by opposition politics, which has shown some propensity to self-destruct.

Trust in opposition parties is at an all-time low. According to recent surveys conducted by Afrobarome­ter, 30 percent of urbanites do not trust the opposition at all compared to 15 percent in 2005 and 11 percent in 2011.

ZANU PF has been able to tap into voter dissatisfa­ction with the opposition run councils by offering alternativ­e ways of doing things.

Judging by the recent results, it appears the voters are finding the ruling party’s message more attractive than what the opposition is offering.

The nagging issue of Chamisa’s personalis­ation of the CCC where him and a coterie of close allies were the only ones with legitimate positions created serious acrimony among the opposition senior leadership and general supporters.

Another concerns for critics is Chamisa’s frequent invocation of God. The former CCC leader has continued to use the phrase “Godisnit” for years and regularly posts Bible verses on the social media X.

He recently told the media that his “chief adviser” was the Holy Spirit. This has not gone well with some opposition sympathise­rs who feel politics and religion should be separate.

Going forward and given the manner in which Chamisa left his CCC party, it will be hard if not impossible for anyone to take the opposition serious.

The opposition will also find it difficult to raise the necessary material resources or attract the requisite human capital or skills to lead a party that can form a government.

No sane person would want to donate his or her money or volunteer their skills into a sinking propositio­n whose risk is made worse by the fact that when the going gets tough, the leader has a record of quitting.