The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) released the results of the polls late on Saturday.
In Mutare Municipality Ward 3, ZANU PF’s Portia Gwinjai was declared duly elected councillor. According to the declaration of the results of the poll by Ward Elections Officer Progress Dhliwayo, Gwinjai polled 760 votes.
Her closest challenger, Innocent Mandava, an independent, polled 426 votes, while Farai Arutura, also independent, got 95 votes and Edward Mukambura of the MDC got 76 votes. There were 17 rejected ballot papers, and the percentage poll was 26.5 per cent.
In this ward, ZANU PF won with an outright majority. Even combined, the two independents and the MDC candidate polled 597 votes, 163 votes fewer than Gwinjai.
In Victoria Falls Municipality Ward 11, ward elections officer Sibangani Dube declared that George Mhlanga of ZANU PF was elected with 736 votes. Daniel Moyo, an independent, was runner-up with 211 votes.
In Ward 10, Victoria Falls, Thindolie Sibanda of ZANU PF won with 291 votes, according to Ward Elections Officer Tabitha Tariro Mwonzora.
Sibanda’s main challengers were all independents: Nkanyiso Sibindi with 174 votes, Abel Muzhuzha with 119 votes, Deffin Ndlovu with 16, Prince T. Kagande with 13, Preston Chuma with 9, Ayanda Mathe with 7 and Tonderai Sagambe with 6.
Combined, the independents polled 344 votes, 53 more than the ZANU PF candidate, enabling ZANU PF to take the ward on a minority vote. There were 8 rejected ballot papers, and the percentage poll was 28.17 per cent.
In Ward 9, Victoria Falls, the result was even tighter. Tapiwa Kwadu Sibanda of ZANU PF was declared elected with 287 votes, the declaration by Ward Elections Officer Caroline Nyathi shows.
Simbarashe Mathe, independent, polled 150 votes, Vusimuzi Sibanda, independent, polled 115, and Liberty Mudenda, independent, polled 22.
The three independents combined polled exactly 287 votes, the same as the ZANU PF winner, meaning a united opposition candidacy would have forced a tie. There were 2 rejected ballot papers and voter turnout was 27.1 per cent.
The results underline a continued trend in local authority by-elections of low turnout, all four wards polled below 34 per cent, and a fragmented opposition largely made up of independent candidates in the absence of Sengezo Tshabangu’s CCC.
All three Victoria Falls wards became vacant after Tshabangu recalled the three councillors, but he did not field candidates to contest the by-elections.