The newly elected Zapu president, Sibangilizwe Nkomo, has urged party members to remain to loyal to the opposition party and work with him to restore the organisation back to its former glory.
Nkomo, son to the late founding father and nationalist
Joshua Nkomo, invoked the spirit of unity after he won the presidency in a
drama filled elective congress on
Saturday.
Nkomo, whose home province is Matabeleland South won with
793 votes, against former party Secretary General – Dr Strike Mkandla from
Bulawayo who only received 22 votes while the youngest candidate, Bernard
Magugu from Midlands managed 52 votes.
The three day Zapu elective congress comes after a series
of postponement due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
However, during the congress, six party members including
one presidential aspirant, Matthew Sibanda, filed an urgent chamber application
against the party and Nkomo to stop proceedings.
The applicants later voluntarily withdrew their case and
congress proceedings continued.
Before voting started, all provincial chairpersons were
informed they would receive ballot papers corresponding to the number of their
registered and accredited delegates.
Delegates from Bulawayo Province were allocated 247
ballots, Matabeleland North -128 ballots, Matabeleland South – 227 ballots,
Midlands -135 ballots, Manicaland – seven ballots, Harare – 49 ballots,
Mashonaland East – eight ballots, Mashonaland
West -14 ballots, Mashonaland Central – eight ballots, Chitungwiza- 26
ballots.
Structures from outside the country were also represented
as South Africa received 45 ballots, Botswana -two ballots, Canada and the
United Kingdom both received one ballot each.
Total number of ballots issued for the post of President
was 898 papers.
The delegates were then
asked to write the name of their preferred candidate on the ballot paper
given.
For the vice presidency, three candidates were nominated
and these were, Derek Katsenga from Mashonaland East, who won with 309 votes,
against Isabel Murambiwa from the Canada province with 284 votes and Buster
Magwizi from Mashonaland West with 152 votes.
For the post of National Chairperson, four of the five
candidates were former ZPRA and army generals.
Former Treasurer General, Mark Mbayiwa from
Matabeleland North emerged the winner
with 431 votes, defeating Magwizi (54 votes), the party’s national organising
secretary – Zolani Dlamini from Bulawayo (47 votes), Patron Nketha also from
Bulawayo (44 votes) and Richard Chitiyo from Midlands with (23 votes).
The Secretary General post was won by Mthulisi Hanana from
Botswana province with 590 votes, against Vuyani Hlazo from South Africa
province who polled 54 votes.
Former Deputy Secretary for International Relations, Future
Msebele from the South Africa province grabbed the Treasurer General post with
152 votes against Grace Noko ( Bulawayo with 90 votes), Bongani Halimane (South
African with 79 votes and Khethiwe Silundika (Bulawayo with 79 votes as well. Cite.org.zw
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