The former army commander also urged fellow Zanu PF candidates at a counting centre in the province to live with the reality that they had indeed lost the elections to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Morgan Tsvangirai.
Zvinavashe, a former army commander who once vowed he would never salute Tsvangirai, spoke Wednesday while addressing Zanu PF House of Assembly and local council election candidates during the recounting of ballots for three constituencies at Gutu rural district council offices in Masvingo.
Zvinavashe said: There is no need to fight over these results. We must accept the reality that we have lost these elections to the MDC. What is important is to live together in peace, both losers and winners. We do not want violence in this area. We are relatives.
The former Zimbabwe Defence Forces chief startled election officials and agents when he publicly suggested that Zanu PF candidates in Masvingo had lost because of the party’s presidential candidate President Robert Mugabe.
He said: Most of us lost these elections not because we are not popular in our constituencies. We lost these harmonised elections because of one man.
People rejected us because we were campaigning for Mugabe. People in Masvingo have rejected him and we became collateral damage. There is no reason to fight with the MDC over this election. The real problem is that man not us.
The revealing remarks by Zvinavashe were made in the presence of MDC candidates and polling agents who were at the counting centre.
Â
Post published in: News