The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
ALL is set for the Zanu-PF provincials elections to be held this Tuesday throughout the country with Politburo members having already been deployed to supervise the polls.
The elections will see the election of provincial chairpersons of the Main Wing, Women’s League and the Youth in the country’s 10 provinces.
Zanu-PF National Political Commissar Cde Mike Bimha said in an interview yesterday it was all systems go for the elections adding that the party had dissolved the provincial structures and deployed supervisors to administer affairs in the interim.
“We have deployed Politburo members who are going to run and manage the affairs of the provinces.
“As you know we have dissolved provincial structures, so we have assigned two Politburo members for each province and they will administer the provinces and also supervise the elections in those provinces.
“These Politburo members do not come from the areas that they have been deployed to but they will be assisted by Central Committee Members who also don’t come from that same province,” said Cde Bimha.
He said the material that would be used for the elections was ready for distribution.
“All election materials such as ballot boxes and ballot papers will be distributed tomorrow (today) and the elections will be held on the 28th of December 2021.
These are the systems that are in place for now,” he said.
Cde Bimha said the Politburo members deployed to the provinces would man the Command Centre for the particular province while the Central Committee members would also administer the administrative district command centres.
He further said meetings to finalise on polling officers were also on.
“We will also be holding meetings tomorrow (today), all those Politburo members assisted by Central Committee Members, will be having meetings with the party leadership in those areas so that they can then organise the polling and presiding officers,” he said.
Cde Bimha, however, said the elections were internal and there was no ruling on wearing party regalia on the day of the elections.
“It is just people in the same party, there is no ruling on regalia, what we are only saying is that those people who are candidates should not be involved in the administration of the elections because they are conflicted, so all those that are participating should not be involved in the administration,” he said.
Cde Bimha said party members that had shown their interest in the provincial youth chairperson position but fell short because of the 35 years age cap were advised to move to the main wing or women’s league and contest in those areas.
Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube is seeking to get in the provincial structure in Bulawayo Province while Brigadier-General (Rtd) Levi Mayihlome is also in the basket for the Matabeleland South provincial executive.
In Bulawayo Province elections will be supervised by Masvingo Province with Cde Kenneth Musanhi as the team leader.
Harare Province will be supervised by Manicaland Province with Cde Simbarashe Mumbengegwi as team leader while Manicaland will be supervised by Mashonaland Central Province with Cde Engelbert Rugeje as the team leader.
Mashonaland Central will be supervised by Midlands Province with Cde Richard Ndlovu being the team leader, Mashonaland East will be supervised by Bulawayo Province and Cde Ziyambi Ziyambi leading the team.
In Mashonaland West, the province will be supervised by Matabeleland South and Cde Lovemore Matuke will lead the team.
Masvingo Province will be supervised by Matabeleland North and Ambassador Fredrick Shava will be team leader, Matabeleland North supervised by Harare Province with Cde Douglas Mahiya as team leader.
Matabeleland South will be supervised by Mashonaland West with Dr David Parirenyatwa being the team leader.
President Mnangagwa has warned against wayward behaviour during the elections saying elections were a critical element in the party as they entrench democracy and strengthen the party.
@NyembeziMu
