Rural councils target 2.3 million votes for Mugabe

The country's 60 rural district councils have launched a strategy targeting to garner at least 2.3 million votes for President Mugabe and Zanu-PF in next year's harmonised elections.

The launch was done at a meeting called by the Association of Rural District Councils president Dr Killer Zivhu in Bulawayo over the weekend, that was attended by chairpersons from all the country's 60 rural district councils.

The campaign strategy would entail that all Zanu-PF's rural councillors ensure people in their wards register to vote, and do so for President Mugabe and the ruling party.

The councillors would hold meetings and rallies to educate people on the need to go and register as voters and why they should vote for President Mugabe and the ruling party.

Speaking after the meeting, Dr Zivhu said their top priority was ensuring that President Mugabe and Zanu-PF resoundingly win the 2018 harmonised elections.

"If we do it well according to our calculations, and each councillor ensures 1 500 votes for President Mugabe and Zanu-PF in each ward, then we will get a combined minimum of 2,3 million votes," said Dr Zivhu.

"We agreed to launch the massive campaign for President Mugabe and Zanu-PF in our wards, the grassroots, to ensure that our people not only go to the polls, but also vote for the President and the ruling party."

Dr Zivhu said there would be provincial launches of the campaign strategy to be attended by Zanu-PF councillors and shadow councillors in areas where there were no ruling party councillors.

He said rural district council chairpersons had been tasked with supervising their councillors to ensure they liaised with responsible authorities for people to acquire documents that enabled them to register as voters.

Dr Zivhu said their job would be made easier by that councillors were the ones mostly in touch with the grassroots, since their area of jurisdiction was small.

"This is not a joke or an ambitious project, it is a reality, and as councillors we are capable of bringing the votes to our President and we are determined to make sure this is achieved without fail," said Dr Zivhu.

"We have a very strong team headed by me as the president of the association to carry out this task we have set before us. As councillors, we stay with the people in the rural areas, we spend more time with them than any other politician, we attend funerals, churches and developmental meetings with the people.

"We are going to turn this advantage we have in terms of our grassroots activities to mobilise people in each ward and by the time the elections come, each councillor will be having an estimated number of Zanu-PF votes in their ward, which is at least 1 500."

Dr Zivhu said no funds from councils would be used for the campaign, but councillors would take advantage of the regular meetings they have with the people to push the voting programme.

"We have taken a clear stance of ensuring that the ruling party romps to victory and we want to show the President, the Politburo, the Central Committee and all organs of the party that we are very useful to our party, Zanu-PF," said Dr Zivhu.

Dr Zivhu said during their meeting in Bulawayo, councillors thanked President Mugabe for initiatives such as Command Agriculture and the Presidential Inputs Scheme.