Attempts to elect committees in Mashonaland East, West and Central provinces have mostly ended in violent scuffles. The latest incident involved Joel Mujuru, brother to the late army general Solomon Mujuru. He was nearly assaulted in Mudzi South last Friday after allegedly trying to impose election candidates.
ZANU PF is reportedly “battling to come up with structures in different parts of the country” even after the party resumed fresh DCC elections after the chaos that marred the previous attempts. Various factions in the party are jockeying for power and the elections have become fertile battlegrounds to flex their political muscles.
Political analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya told SW Radio Africa: “The centre of power in ZANU PF, as epitomised by President Mugabe, is crumbling. I say so because during Mugabe’s heydays, when Mugabe was still fit, when Mugabe’s faculties were operating properly, nothing of this nature was taking place.”
Ruhanya said there are a lot of factions within ZANU PF who are waiting to take over from Mugabe and the situation had been compounded by ambitious generals who are also eyeing the presidency once he leaves the scene. It is this mix which has fuelled the vicious infighting and chaos in the party.
Ruhanya also pointed to the involvement of people like retired Air vice Marshall Henry Muchena who are said to be helping restructure ZANU PF’s structures on the ground. “ZANU PF is no longer a factor because of these squabbles. The military going into politics to restructure the party is at the centre of the chaos.”
“What is critical to observe, given chaos in ZANU PF and the position of SADC, is that it is clear ZANU PF is in chaos at both regional and national level. The democratic forces in the country should seize this moment and expose the real power behind the regime (military) and tackle them properly,” Ruhanya added.
Last week Lindiwe Zulu, President Jacob Zuma’s foreign policy advisor and a member of South Africa’s facilitation team, told her country’s e-news television channel that Zimbabwe should have security sector re-alignment.
‘Let me make it clear, this is not a creation of externals. It is part of the GPA and it must be implemented before elections are held. SADC was very clear that all reforms and processes should be fulfilled before Zimbabwe goes for elections.
‘We cannot have a repeat of the 2008 election. It is very important that we have elections that are acceptable to all the parties as well as acceptable by SADC and AU,’ Zulu said. Many others echoed the same sentiments saying it was not just about having elections but about whether a transfer of power would be allowed. SW Radio Africa
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