Peter Mutasa takes over as CiCZ chair

TRADE unionist Peter Mutasa was Wednesday elected as the chairperson of Crisis In Zimbabwe Coalition (CiCZ) in a tensely-contested virtual election.

He managed to poll 53% of the vote against his rival Samuel Wadzayi who followed closely at 47%.

Wadzayi is the director of the Vendors Initiative for Socio-Economic Transformation (VISET).

Busi Dube was elected vice-chairperson after polling 69% ahead of Alice Kuvheya who polled 31%.

Other board members are; Obert Masaraure, the spokesperson, and Gamuchirai Mukura, treasurer.

The election was scheduled for last December in Bulawayo but was aborted after suspected Zanu-PF activists disrupted the elective Annual General Meeting (AGM) as they sought to bar Mutasa's ascendency.

Mutasa is the former president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union, a position he relinquished last year after he was defeated in an election by Florence Taruvinga amid claims of vote-buying and state interference.

Due to the Bulawayo disturbances, CiCZ was forced to conduct the polls online.

The veteran unionist is widely seen as a voice for workers and citizens in the wilderness.

CiCZ is a grouping of over 87 civil society organisations coordinating social, political, and economic consciousness in Zimbabwe.