National secretary for elections and MP for Gweru MP, Sessil Zvidzai, told The Zimbabwean that failure to do this would result in loss of the movement’s broad vision of change at the grassroots level.
Members expected a secret ballot voting system to be used in district and provincial elections in line with an agreement made by the MDC-T’s National Executive Council.
However, protests were made throughout the country that the party’s organising department, led by Nelson Chamisa, had abandoned that agreed template and in some cases invited members to vote for their preferred candidates through raising of hands.
In some cases the members were also asked to stand behind their preferred candidates to indicate support. In both systems, no physical counting of the votes was done and winners in most cases declared by Chamisa through rough estimation of the candidate with “majority support.”
“The problem was that in several provinces and districts supporters strongly opposed the secret ballot system. Their resistance in some instances was so stiff that it disrupted the process altogether so those who conducted the polls ended up giving in,” said Zvidzai.
“We now need a healing process for those who failed to be elected but had campaigned – because they were the most affected. We need to make them see the bigger picture – bringing change by defeating Zanu (PF) at the next general elections.”
Some people who aspired to take up posts and accused Chamisa of side-lining them in order to achieve his ambition of assuming the post of secretary-general at the coming MDC-T elective congress have quit or defected from the party.
MDC-T Gweru Urban MP Timothy Mkhahlera, who had campaigned to become the party’s provincial chairperson, quit the party at the weekend. In Bulawayo, Pumula MP Albert Mhlanga also defected along with Gladys Mathe and ward 8 Councillor Sheila Nkomo in protest at the irregularities of the MDC-T provincial elections. Binga North MP Prince Sibanda also threatened to quit after also having been frustrated by the manner in which provincial polls were held in his area. He lost on the post of provincial secretary.
“There are so many posts in MDC-T that are not voted for which are occupied by people with technocratic backgrounds. I would recommend we identify skills that losers of provincial elections possess so that they can be deployed in those. At the end of the day, it is growing the tent that is needed. So let’s all gather in the bigger tent,” said Zvidzai.
Post published in: News