MDC-T Chamisa in trouble

THE MDC-T led by Nelson Chamisa is in trouble after failing to manage its primary elections, leaving most of those who lost in the elections accusing the party leadership of electoral fraud and favouritism.

MDC-T national women's wing boss Lynette Karenyi, who lost the chaos-ridden Dangamvura/Chikanga constituency polls in Manicaland to former Musikavanhu legislator Prosper Mutseyami, has indicated that she could go it alone if the results are allowed to stand.

"I wish to announce that I will not be accepting any of the results or any means of trying to push me out of Chikanga-Dangamvura in an unfair way. The will of the people of Chikanga must prevail. Not the will of fraudulent people bent on party destruction," she said.

Karenyi has the backing of party supporters as well as provincial chairman David Chimhini, who have accused Mutseyami of running away with ballot papers before counting.

Chimhini said he was not happy with Mutseyami's behaviour.

"In ward 17, there was no facilities such as the electricity and the voting did not go well and we have Mutseyami, who put ballot papers in his car for counting. Have you ever heard about that, that a candidate will take ballot papers? It became highly questionable," he said.

Mutseyami referred all the questions to provincial party spokesperson Trevor Saruwaka, who said he was yet to get a report.

In Harare, primary elections were postponed to later dates after supporters had been informed they would vote on Sunday.

In Marondera Central, Caston Matewo was declared winner in a chaos-marred poll, where voting was suspended in two wards at the weekend.

Matewo, who was based in the United Kingdom, beat three other candidates after polling 796 votes.

The primary election was marred by violence after one of the top officials was found in possession of ballot papers.

No voting took place in wards 4 and 5 in Marondera owing to violence.

MDC-T Marondera district chairperson Chengetai Murowa said Matewo was declared the winner and that the MDC Alliance was now campaigning for the candidate.

In Zhombe, former MP Rogers Tazviona, who lost to Zanu PF's Daniel Mckenize Ncube in 2013 after serving one term, fell to little-known Datsun Mapfumo.

MDC-T secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora, however, said they would emerge stronger from the primary elections if the party does not ignore the complaints coming out of the polls.

"Nobody is against the primary elections. In fact, they are a test of democracy, it is how the elections are run, the rules of the game and if there are complaints, how they are dealt with becomes key. I can assure you that we will deal with every complaint transparently. We are working 24/7 to deliver a clean poll and we have not failed," he said.

Youth secretary for security, James Chidhakwa said the challenge was that there were people in the party who felt as if being legislators was an entitlement.

"We have been in the party for the past 18 years as the youth wing supporting the same people who now believe that they are entitled to be Members of Parliament, that nobody but them. We are simply saying you have played your part let others takeover and they are crying its unfair," he said.

Chidhakwa, who faces James Maridadi in Mabvuku, where primary elections were postponed, told NewsDay, the party and those who claim to care about it should allow for renewal and re-energising of MDC-T.