BULAWAYO – The main opposition party led by Nelson Chamisa the Coalition for Citizens Change (CCC), sent a delegation to Bulawayo to address the growing anger and discontent among party members regarding his handling of the candidate selection process for the upcoming August 23 election.
The interim organizing committee, chaired by Amos Chibaya, organized a meeting at the party’s provincial office to resolve the issues.
During the meeting, according to Bulawayo24, tensions rose as some attendees claimed that Chamisa had imposed candidates with questionable links to Bulawayo. Ward coordinators, winning candidates, and those who lost out in the candidate selection process were present at the meeting. There were demands for Chamisa himself to address the concerns, causing a delay in the start of the meeting.
Eventually, a side meeting took place between Matson Hlalo, whose name was allegedly removed from the Senate party list at the Nomination Court, and the Bulawayo provincial leadership, along with Morgan Ncube, the deputy of Amos Chibaya. After this meeting, Hlalo requested attendees to send their grievances to Chamisa through Ncube.
The attendees expressed concerns about corruption in the candidate selection process and the lack of respect for the will of the people. As a result of the disarray in the candidate selection, four individuals who were not selected by the party filed papers at the Nomination Court, leading to double candidates for the CCC. The party has taken the matter to court, accusing the double candidates of forging signatures, and is seeking their removal from the ballot.
Due to the chaotic nature of the CCC’s candidate selection process in Bulawayo, all of the party’s candidates for the National Assembly and Senate filed their papers after the 4 PM nomination court deadline. Zanu PF, another political party, has taken the matter to court in an attempt to have all CCC candidates disqualified.
If successful, Zanu PF could potentially secure all 12 National Assembly seats in the province and gain exclusive control over the provincial council since the CCC’s 10 party list candidates were barred by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) for missing the deadline.