OPPOSITION Zapu party has failed to field candidates for all the December 9 by-elections due to financial challenges, Southern Eye can reveal.
Zimbabwe will next month hold by-elections following the recall of 15 Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) legislators and 17 councillors by self-proclaimed interim secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu.
Zapu only managed to field one parliamentary candidate in Beitbridge, two council candidates in Matabeleland North and nine in Bulawayo for the by-elections after the nomination court sat on Tuesday this week, with Tshabangu and the CCC led by Nelson Chamisa filing papers for their candidates under the same party banner.
Zapu has only one councillor in Matabeleland South province.
Zapu treasurer France Leebof Ndlovu said the party had no money to cover all seats and wards.
“We have no funders and our members managed to raise the money which enabled us to field only a few candidates,” Ndlovu said.
“In Matabeleland North, we fielded two councillors. In Bulawayo, we have nine and we also filed papers for one MP in Beitbridge.
“We are determined to contest and lead. Ours is not only to have a diplomatic push for proper governance, but we also want to go into elections as a party.”
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He said the short notice for the by-elections affected the mobilisation of resources.
Between 1980 and 1985, Zapu then led by the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo used to grab all seats in the Matabeleland region despite the military crackdown on its members by the late former President Robert Mugabe’s regime during the Gukurahundi period.
Meanwhile, another Matabeleland-based opposition party Freedom Alliance (FA) filed nomination papers for two council candidates in Bulawayo.
FA spokesperson Nhlanhla Moses Ncube confirmed this yesterday.
“We only managed to field two councillors in wards they had lost on August 23 in Bulawayo,” he said.
The United Zimbabwe Alliance said it was boycotting the by-elections because they were a product of undemocratic recalls.
“Our decision is a principled one, driven by the belief that real change must come through reforms that guarantee fairness, transparency and justice in the Zimbabwe electoral process,” party national spokesperson Elvis Dzvene said.
Dzvene urged other political parties to join the boycott.
“We do not have confidence in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, which has proven to be biased and has not implemented any meaningful electoral reforms since the disputed August 23 harmonised elections ... We do not recognise the by-elections as legitimate due to the unconstitutional and undemocratic recall of the elected representatives. We do not believe that participating in the by-elections will advance the cause of democracy and the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe,” he said.
“We do not want to legitimise a process that is illegitimate, unfair and unsafe. We do not want to waste our resources on a futile exercise that will not bring any meaningful change. We do not want to betray the aspirations and expectations of our supporters and the people of Zimbabwe.”
