Zanu-PF Masvingo to convene an emergency meeting

The Zanu-PF leadership in Masvingo will this week unveil House of Assembly and local government candidates who won the just-ended ruling party primary elections before party supporters in the province.

The unveiling will be a precursor to a full swing into election mode by the revolutionary party as it gears for the harmonised elections slated for July.

Zanu-PF Masvingo Provincial chair Ezra Chadzamira yesterday said the party will this week convene an emergency meeting to unveil its winning candidates for the coming elections.

Chadzamira said save for very few areas where there will be primary election re-runs, the majority of ruling party candidates in the coming elections in Masvingo were now known.

"We will this week hold a Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting specifically to introduce our winning candidates in the just-ended primary elections so that both the party leadership in Masvingo and the general party membership and other stakeholders get to know who the candidates are," he said.

"All the winning candidates from the House of Assembly, Senate, women's quota, councils and provincial council will be unveiled at the meeting and we are fully confident of the team we have."

Chadzamira said the ruling party will soon embark on a massive campaign to drum up support for the party and its presidential candidate Mnangagwa.

"The unveiling of candidates who triumphed in our internal polls will precede the start of the actual campaigning throughout the province ahead of the harmonised elections," he said.

Chadzamira said Zanu-PF was targeting a clean sweep of all the 26 National Assembly seats and maintain its stranglehold on the political landscape in the province.

"We have already made retaining all the 26 House of Assembly seats in the province a top priority and we are quite confident that we will whitewash the opposition in Masvingo come elections."

Zanu-PF bagged all the 26 House of Assembly seats in Masvingo during the last elections held in 2013 to reaffirm its status as a Zanu-PF stronghold.

Some bigwigs fell by the wayside during the primary elections.

They include Zanu-PF Secretary for Legal Affairs in the Politburo Paul Mangwana, who fell short in Chivi Central where he lost to incumbent legislator Ephraim Gwanongodza.

In Gutu North, Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira failed to make it after losing to ruling party National Youth League Executive member Yeukai Simbanegavi.

In Zaka Central incumbent legislator Paradzai Chakona lost to Davison Svuure.

Several sitting legislators in Masvingo also pulled through, most notably Joosbi Omar (Mwenezi East), Mathias Tongofa (Chivi North), Brigadier-General Callisto Gwanetsa (Retired) (Chiredzi South), and Denford Masiya (Chiredzi East).

Mines and Mining Development minister Winston Chitando (Gutu Central) and Edmond Mhere (Masvingo Central) sailed through unopposed.