News / National
MDC-T losing candidates cry foul
31 May 2013 at 05:30hrs | Views
Some aspiring parliamentary candidates, who lost in the on-going primary elections of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, have petitioned the party's leadership seeking a re-run of the polls alleging the process was fraught with irregularities.
The official line from the MDC-T has been that the on-going primaries are proceeding smoothly and without incident. But some aspiring lawmakers who lost in the process think otherwise.
They are challenging both the process and the outcome of the elections with others complaining that the party's top hierarchy was shielded from being challenged though they are not popular in their constituencies.
One such disgruntled aspirant is Alec Masomera who lost to the party's youth leader Solomon Madzore in Dzivarasekwa constituency.
But Nelson Chamisa, organising secretary of the MDC-T, told Studio 7 from Kwekwe where he was supervising the party's primaries in the Midlands Province, that all primary polls held so far were credible.
Similar complaints have been raised in Harare's Mabvuku and Mbare constituencies where former prominent ZBC disc jockeys James Maridadi and Eric Knight won the right to stand as MDC-T parliamentary candidates in this year's crucial elections.
Another former disc jockey Ezra Sibanda also won the right Wednesday to stand for the MDC-T in Vungu constituency.
Sources at Harvest House said an appeal has also been lodged by some candidates who lost to the party's Harare provincial chairperson Paul Madzore in Glen-View South constituency.
Masomera told Studio 7 that he now wants the party's appeals committee to nullify the poll results in his constituency. Although allegations of election rigging have been raised in Mbare and Mabvuku, appeal letters are yet to be submitted to the party's leadership.
Chamisa said MDC-T leaders will handle each appeal as it comes, adding doors are open for those who are unhappy with both the election process and outcome.
The MDC-T says it will hold primary elections for its council representatives when it has finished selecting its parliamentary candidates.
Zanu-PF and other political parties are yet to announce when they will hold their primaries although President Robert Mugabe and his party are pushing for early polls.
The official line from the MDC-T has been that the on-going primaries are proceeding smoothly and without incident. But some aspiring lawmakers who lost in the process think otherwise.
They are challenging both the process and the outcome of the elections with others complaining that the party's top hierarchy was shielded from being challenged though they are not popular in their constituencies.
One such disgruntled aspirant is Alec Masomera who lost to the party's youth leader Solomon Madzore in Dzivarasekwa constituency.
But Nelson Chamisa, organising secretary of the MDC-T, told Studio 7 from Kwekwe where he was supervising the party's primaries in the Midlands Province, that all primary polls held so far were credible.
Another former disc jockey Ezra Sibanda also won the right Wednesday to stand for the MDC-T in Vungu constituency.
Sources at Harvest House said an appeal has also been lodged by some candidates who lost to the party's Harare provincial chairperson Paul Madzore in Glen-View South constituency.
Masomera told Studio 7 that he now wants the party's appeals committee to nullify the poll results in his constituency. Although allegations of election rigging have been raised in Mbare and Mabvuku, appeal letters are yet to be submitted to the party's leadership.
Chamisa said MDC-T leaders will handle each appeal as it comes, adding doors are open for those who are unhappy with both the election process and outcome.
The MDC-T says it will hold primary elections for its council representatives when it has finished selecting its parliamentary candidates.
Zanu-PF and other political parties are yet to announce when they will hold their primaries although President Robert Mugabe and his party are pushing for early polls.
Source - news
