Mnangagwa on Friday said elections would be held on December 9 to replace the CCC legislators that were controversially recalled by self-imposed interim secretary general of the party Sengezo Tshabangu barely a month after they were elected into office.
Some of the affected constituencies such as Cowdray Park in Bulawayo and Mabvuku in Harare saw Zanu PF candidates Mthuli Ncube and Scott Sakupwanya, respectively throwing in a lot of money for a losing cause.
Binga North was being eyed by Forever Associate Zimbabwe (Faz) leader Kudakwashe Munsanka.
Faz, which has close links to the Central Intelligence Organisation, was cited by observer missions as one of the reasons the August 23 polls were flawed as it employed unorthodox means to garner support for Zanu PF.
Observers say Tshabangu’s choice of constituencies showed a pattern where Zanu PF is targeting areas where it has a chance of winning through by-elections.
CCC party spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi yesterday hinted that the party may not participate in the by-elections as it considered various options to protest against the recalls.
“We have an option to totally withdraw from the councils and Parliament thereby causing a collapse of the government, a constitutional crisis which will require fresh elections,” Mkwananzi said.
The CCC has also threatened to hold protests over the recalls, but police have said the demonstrations would not be sanctioned.
“They might think that it is over, but it’s not,” Mkwananzi said.
“We are going to have pockets of protests mushrooming all over the country.”
Political analyst Macdonald Lewanika said Mnangagwa and Zanu PF were going for broke to totally ‘collapse’ CCC.
“At another level, the action is prejudicial to the legal routes and shows that CCC was correct not to pursue the legal route in the first instance because it is not viable,” Lewanika said.
“The action means that beyond challenging the recalls the CCC now has to challenge Mnangagwa’s actions, which themselves may not be unlawful because they were triggered or informed by the speaker of Parliament (Jacob Mudenda’s) actions.
“Ultimately Mnangagwa is happy with anything that moves him towards a peaceful term that gives him control of the house and the power to bend the legislative capacities to his will, including the possibilities of using a majority in Parliament to fashion a third term through changing the constitution."
Another political analyst Romeo Chasara said: “Mnangagwa is just rushing the by-elections in order to gain majority in Parliament for CCC has a chance to organise itself as a party.”
There is talk that Mnangagwa could be eyeing a third term in office and that would mean amending the constitution as the presidential terms are currently limited to two.
Zanu PF did not get a two-thirds majority in the disputed elections to enable it to change the constitution on its own.
Mnangagwa’s proclamation of by-election dates came amid indications that Tshabangu and his backers in CCC were prepared for a major climb down following a backlash over what appeared to be their willingness to collaborate with Zanu PF.
Sources said there were already behind -the-scenes manoeuvres for talks between Chamisa and Tshabangu to find common ground.
Chamisa formed the CCC in 2022 after losing the MDC Alliance to his former ally, Douglas Mwonzora..
The CCC has not held an elective congress to elect a substantive leadership.
Sources said Tshabangu and Chamisa’s allies had reached out to each other to save the party from imploding.
Tshabangu yesterday confirmed the developments.
“They have approached our lawyers for discussions so we have given them a green light so that they can start negotiations,” Tshabangu said.
“We will be exchanging concept papers.
“Our lawyers were not instructed when they met, so now we have instructed our lawyers to meet them, we are open for dialogue.”
CCC interim deputy spokesperson Gift Ostallos Siziba did not want to comment about the matter.
Chamisa announced a partial withdrawal from Parliament and council a fortnight ago in protest over the recalls.
Tshabangu, who has been accused of working in cahoots with Zanu PF and Faz, said he would select his own candidates to contest the by-elections if talks between him and Chamisa did not yield results.
“I think we were clear from the beginning that the reason for the by-elections was necessitated by the fact that candidates in various places were imposed and were illegitimate,” he said.
“If ever there was a candidate that was number one, and was for some reasons booted out from the race, then that candidate automatically becomes the official candidate for CCC.
“Only those wanted by the people are going to be given the right to represent the people in these elections.”
Bulawayo based political analyst Methuseli Moyo warned that the upcoming by-elections might be a minefield for Chamisa and could lead to more chaos if not handled carefully.
“If he loses the legal battle against Sengezo Tshabangu on who is CCC would present a complex situation for him,” Moyo said.
“More chaos looms for the opposition, and it is advantageous to Zanu PF.
“However, this is not to say Zanu PF is responsible for the upheavals in CCC, but they will certainly exploit the situation to their advantage.” Standard
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