…as Chamisa endorses two candidates for the constituency
Political Reporter
With the Citizens Coalition for Change’s (CCC) candidate selection process taking ages to be completed, two aspiring candidates of that party have already started campaigning in Norton, claiming that they had the blessings of their party leader, Nelson Chamisa.
A CCC insider told this publication that there was confusion in Norton constituency as Richard Tsvangirai and Raymond Mhlanga were both campaigning, claiming that they have been cleared by Chamisa to do so.
“There is now confusion in Norton constituency as we now have two CCC aspiring candidates who are campaigning right now. Strangely, both Tsvangirai and Mhlanga are claiming that they have been cleared by Chamisa to start campaigning. If this situation is not corrected soon, the party might have double candidates in Norton and that would cost us the seat,” said the source.
The source added that previously, it had been agreed within CCC that Tsvangirai would contest in Norton on behalf of that party in this year’s elections.
“Previously, it had been agreed that Tsvangirai would be the party’s candidate in Norton. Since last year, Tsvangirai has been doing some philanthropic works in Norton as he wanted to build his support base. We were surprised to hear Mhlanga claiming that he had been cleared by Chamisa to represent the party in this year’s elections. As it stands, both Mhlanga and Tsvangirai have a sizeable number of followers and we fear that if this case is not amicably solved, we might end up having two CCC candidates in Norton,” said the source.
The source fumed that there was no reason for Tsvangirai and Mhlanga to make parallel campaigns that divide supporters and urged that party’s leadership to urgently announce the results of the candidate selection process that took place a fortnight ago.
“Why are they still withholding the results? People need to know who their representatives in the coming elections are. This issue of Tsvangirai and Mhlanga can only be resolved if results are announced,” said the source.
Meanwhile, there are reports that Mhlanga is a member of the Sesedza Movement, a faction within CCC that is plotting to dethrone Chamisa soon after his anticipated defeat in this year’s Presidential elections.
