PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa reportedly stepped in to douse factional flames that were threatening to raze Midlands province by blocking rival faction leaders from contesting to ensure his trusted loyalist, Larry Mavima emerges uncontested.
This comes as the party yesterday said all candidates would
undergo security vetting, a development which observers said would see many
falling by the wayside.
Outgoing chairperson Daniel Mackenzie Ncube and State
Security minister Owen Ncube were the main contestants for the Midlands top
post with their supporters often clashing.
Their rivalry was threatening to collapse the party in
Mnangagwa’s home province, forcing the Zanu PF leader to step in and push for
Mavima to take charge.
Mavima told NewsDay yesterday that his immediate task was
to unite the province and ensure an emphatic victory in impending by-elections
and the 2023 harmonised polls.
“I feel honoured and grateful for the confidence the party
has put in me to be chairman of the province and Minister of State as well as Senator
for Zvishavane-Shurugwi. My aim is to unite the province and to ensure that
Zanu PF wins resoundingly in 2023 and we are going to start off that exercise
by winning all the by-elections in the Midlands province,” Mavima said.
Zanu PF national commissar Mike Bimha said names submitted
to the politburo were being vetted by the party’s security department.
“They are actually being vetted as we speak. Maybe tomorrow
they would have been done but we are not going to announce them as such. We are
sending back the names to the provinces after the vetting process. We will also
produce ballot papers to be sent to the provinces after the vetting process,”
Bimha said.
“They are going through security checks. We don’t even ask
why they have dropped so and so because it’s their prerogative.”
Bimha downplayed the violence that marred the run-up to the
polls as normal.
“There is nothing to write home about,” Bimha said. “When
people are running around campaigning for positions, but there were no reports
of violence otherwise we would have disqualified candidates if we had received
reports of people fanning violence or carrying people to fight fellow members,”
he added.
“As far as we are concerned we don’t have those reports (of
violence.) Yes, people jostle for positions but that is competition and that is
what it is. It’s actually healthy for the party,” Bimha added. Newsday
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