Gono Senate bid ends

Former Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono's spirited bid to land the vacant senatorial seat in Manicaland is now a closed chapter after the Zanu-PF Politburo yesterday upheld the position of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission that legally the aspiring senator was not qualified for the post because he is not a registered voter in the province.

The party maintained that the law could not be tailored to suit the circumstances of an individual. Zanu-PF secretary for Legal Affairs Emmerson Mnangagwa said the Politburo agreed that ZEC's decision was final.

Mnangagwa said Zanu-PF Secretary for Information and Publicity Rugare Gumbo sought to misrepresent the party position saying that Gono's bid could still be salvaged.

Gumbo had said the Politburo had directed the party's legal department to look into the case with a view to finding out how Gono could be accommodated.

Gono had pinned his hopes on the Politburo after ZEC wrote to Zanu-PF on September 15 indicating that although Gono had been nominated for the post by the party, he did not meet the legal criteria required by the new Constitution.