ZANU PF says it will mark its members’ houses with stickers during the coming elections, as was done during the last census, for easy identification of its supporters.
TATENDA CHITAGU/ NUNURAI JENA
Addressing a Zanu PF inter-district meeting held at Masvingo Teachers’ College last week, Masvingo provincial party chairman, Lovemore Matuke said it was mandatory for every supporter to have the sticker for “easy identification”.
“You are supposed to have stickers at every household so that we identify you,” said Matuke. “Our real supporters should have them wedged at their places. If you do not have that sticker at your place, you will be skipped,” he said.
Sources said those with stickers on their doors would get freebies from Zanu PF as the party dishes out goodies in return for votes ahead of next year’s elections.
The party has in the past used food and agricultural inputs to lure voters.
But there are also fears that the stickers would be used to identify people who do not support Zanu PF, who would then be victimised during the elections.
It could not be established if the stickers would be put at every Zanu PF supporter’s house countrywide.
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This identification system brings back the sad memories of the run-up to the June 27 2008 Presidential run-off elections, where scores of people were murdered, tortured while others were displaced by Zanu PF militia.
The MDC-T has said at least 500 of its supporters were murdered during the 2008 elections.
Meanwhile, Zanu PF youths in Mashonaland West province have resolved to demand a quota of seats allocated in the coming elections, saying they had been sidelined for a long time.
This was one of the resolutions they came up with at a provincial youth conference last week in Kadoma.
The youths accused the party’s leadership of trying to side-line them by putting a regulation that bars members with less than five consecutive years in the party from contesting Primary elections.
Zanu PF’s national youth political commissariat, Mike Gava said there were no sacred cows this time around as the youth would contest any constituency as long as they had the capacity.
“The youth are going to challenge in every constituency, unlike previously when the youth were barred from contesting those regarded as seniors in the party,” said Gava.
But Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said there was nothing wrong with their youth aspiring for higher offices, as long as they could measure up to the standard.
“There is nothing wrong with our youth aspiring to be MPs or councillors, as long as they are competent and capable of delivering. That is the reason we as a party are in the process of empowering them,” said Gumbo.
