Staff Reporter
Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) aspiring candidates for the 2023 Harmonised General Elections are at each other’s throat following Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC)’s final publication of the Delimitation Report, the Harare Post has learnt.
A source who spoke to this publication said that there had been some jostling within that party for constituency especially among those CCC candidates whose constituencies were affected by the new boundaries as demarcated in the final Delimitation Report.
Nelson Chamisa’s handpicked blue eyed boys got the favourable constituencies, hence giving a nod to the final gazetted Delimitation Report, while those less favoured were left agitated claiming they had been left in the open to fight for their political survival.
“The delimitation outcome has left CCC internal politics at a boiling point with conflicts erupting among candidates caught in multiple constituency allocations. Budiriro now has two seats namely Budiriro South and Budiriro North. Costa Muchingauta, and is being challenged by CCC member, Panganai Charumbira, for the newly created Budiriro South Constituency. In Budiriro North, National Youth Assembly chairperson, Cecilia Chimbiri, clashed with Mufakose legislator, Susan Matsunga, who was also eyeing Budiriro North constituency, since her constituency was dismantled.
“The problem started when Chamisa resorted to handpicking candidates, imposing Muchingauta in the 2018 harmonised elections leaving Charumbira displeased and fighting for his position despite the decision by Chamisa. Over time, Charumbira had been mobilising an ally in Chimbiri resulting in both of them becoming black sheep of that party, while Chamisa prefers Matsunga to take over the new developed constituency,” revealed the source.
Meanwhile, according to political analysts when ZEC presented the preliminary report to President Emmerson Mnangagwa in December last year, there was a lot of noise from the opposition, with some suggesting that the document had exposed serious infighting within ZANU PF. They observed that the latter was true, they were actually manifesting what was happening within their party as members were bashing Chamisa for being undemocratic and dictatorial.
