Logistical challenges forces extension of Zanu-PF primaries

The Zanu-PF primary elections got underway on Tuesday, amid serious logistical challenges that saw the internal selection process being postponed in some of the constituencies due to the late arrival of voting materials.

In polling stations that opened on time, voting went smoothly throughout the day and the results will be announced from 10am on Wednesday, according to party national chairman Simon Khaya-Moyo.

But in most other areas countrywide voting only began after midday, owing to the late arrival of ballot papers and boxes. In other areas, especially in outlying rural areas, voting was postponed when the voting materials only arrived after 4pm.

In some places the police were used to transport the voting materials. Asked for comment over the involvement of police in Zanu-PF's primaries Theresa Makone, the co-Home Affairs Minister, said this is why Zimbabwe needs a new government that respects institutions and the constitution.

'Nowhere in the world will you ever see a police force being abused like what you see in Zimbabwe. Some of the Zanu-PF candidates are senior policemen and they give orders to these frightened young people in uniform.

'They don't have a choice, its either they comply with the illegal orders or risk losing their jobs since the police leadership is made up of former ex-combatants loyal to Zanu-PF,' Makone said.

Journalists and ordinary Zimbabweans used twitter and Facebook to give updates on the primaries. In one facebook posting Dumisani Muleya, editor of the weekly Zimbabwe Independent wrote: 'Zanu-PF primary elections rocked by chaos and postponed again to 2morow in some cases. What a mess, fiasco or shambles!'

Newsday journalist Elias Mambo tweeted that in Redcliff 'disgruntled Zanu-PF supporters allege rigging and say the party's voters' roll is in shambles and should be discarded.'
Simon Muchemwa, our correspondent in Harare, told us the elections were proving to be a logistical nightmare for Zanu-PF and polling stations complained of various challenges.

'A lot of the polling areas do not have enough materials, ballot papers and boxes and officials have also not arrived timeously to conduct the process which was scheduled to start at 8am and finish at 7pm.

'Officials running the elections were still nowhere to be found in other areas and it is likely that several locations will have their elections postponed. Information reaching us indicates that elections have already been postponed in some areas of Mashonaland Central province,' Muchemwa said.

He added that another strange challenge was the wrong voters list produced by officials at some polling stations. Voters were shocked to see that their names were conspicuously missing from the voters list or that the entire voters list for that polling area was totally wrong.

In Bulawayo, Lionel Saungweme our correspondent said voting had not started at most of the stations amid heightened tensions amongst the party supporters, angry at the poor organization of the process.

'To sum up the huge problems the party has faced, party spokesman Rugare Gumbo could not locate the district command centre in Mberengwa where he's contesting the Senatorial seat against July Moyo.

'He inadvertently ended up asking an MDC aspiring parliamentary candidate if he knew where command centre was located but I guess by now he's found it,' Saungweme said.