Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa, has proclaimed the by-elections will take place on 9 December.
There will be by-elections in 14 constituencies on 9 December after clandestine opposition recalls.The Citizens Coalition for Change says the recalls are part of Zanu-PF’s grand scheme of destroying it.A renegade CCC self-styled secretary-general says more recalls are on the way.
Zimbabwe’s president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, proclaimed 9
December as the by-election date for constituencies where opposition
legislators were recalled.
Vacancies were created when a self-imposed secretary-general
of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), Sengezo Tshabangu, wrote to the
clerk of Parliament, announcing that he had recalled 14 legislators – drawn
from Matabeleland South, Matabeleland North, and Bulawayo.
In a government gazette, Mnangagwa said the nomination court
would sit on 7 November.
The president went ahead despite the CCC disputing that
Tshabangu was its secretary-general or even held a post in the party.
CCC leader Nelson Chamisa said the move by Tshabangu was a
Zanu-PF tactic to clandestinely have a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
CCC deputy spokesperson Ostallos Siziba said the
proclamation by the president was part of his grand plan to destroy the
opposition.
READ | Zimbabwe’s main opposition implodes as renegade recalls lawmakers, handing Zanu PF full control
“The proclamation for by-elections for disputed and
fake vacancies created by Zanu-PF through proxies has all but shown Mnangagwa’s
hand and intention to destroy and decimate the authentic opposition after he
was defeated in the just-ended election. The Citizens movement will not accept
this,” he said.
But Tshabangu told News24 that they welcomed the
proclamation by Mnangagwa – and, as CCC, they would have candidates who had
initially passed the party’s primary selection process.
“We already have candidates that will fill those
positions and those people who initially earned the berths to represent CCC
ahead of those we recalled. We recalled them because they were imposed on the
electorate,” he said.
Because Tshabangu is recognised by the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission as the man in charge of CCC, the recalled candidates, if they intend
to stand for re-election, will have to find an alternative name for their
party.
Tshabangu added that more recalls would be done, setting the
stage for by-elections again.
“There’s a clarion call from the citizens nationwide,
who say that the imposition of candidates was not only in Bulawayo and
Matabeleland. As such, we will do relevant recalls as time goes,” he
added.
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
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