By Political Reporter
As days of ZAPU’s elective congress draws nearer, there are disagreements in that party over the vice president’s position with another faction pushing for the post to be contested, while others are of the view that the elected president should appoint the vice president.
A ZAPU member who confided in this publication said that party’s leadership should agree on the best criteria to choose the vice president before the congress to avoid unnecessary chaos.
“There are disagreements within the party over the vice president’s post. Traditionally, the vice president was appointed by the person who would have won the presidency at congress. However, some members have a feeling that this is undemocratic and the vice president position should be contested by everyone who want,” said the source.
The same source said some members want the vice president post to be reserved for a female, while others want the post to be reserved for members from Mashonaland Provinces.
“The Woman’s wing within the party are advocating for the vice president’s post to be reserved for a woman. However, some members are saying that the post should only be contested by members from Mashonaland Provinces considering that the post of the president is a preserve of the Ndebele speaking people. So as it stands, no one knows how the vice president will be elected,” added the source.
Besides disagreements over the VP post, the source added, some members are resisting the imposition of the late national hero Joshua Nkomo’s son, Sibangilizwe, to be the next president of ZAPU.
“There is an attempt by some senior members of the party to impose Sibangilizwe Nkomo to be the president of the party. We are saying no to this. We want members to be allowed to contest or elect leaders of their choice without being forced to support a certain candidate,” said the source.
According to the same source, a lot of people including, Zipra’s Veterans Trust spokesperson Baster Magwizi, party spokesperson Iphithule Maphosa, Matthew Bhubesi Sibanda, Bernard Magugu, Strike Mkandla and United Kingdom-based Mqondobanzi Magonya are all in the race for the presidency.
ZAPU is expected to hold their elective congress on 30 April 2020, at Bulawayo Amphitheatre to elect a substantive president following the death of Dumiso Dabengwa some two years ago.
