Candidate imposition haunts Chamisa

A trail of undemocratic practices within the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party continues to haunt its leader Mr Nelson Chamisa after allegations that he imposed former Mutare mayor, Mr Blessings Tandi, as his party's Ward 14 candidate for the by-election scheduled for March 26.

Mr Tandi, who said he has a friendly relationship with Mr Chamisa, was last month recalled by the MDC-T after accusations that he had switched allegiance and started working with the CCC party.

His expected candidature comes after Mr Chamisa told his party supporters in Bulawayo early this month that "to make sure there are no double candidates, I will from now on be the one who signs nomination papers for all CCC candidates."

The former mayor yesterday said he was a full member of the CCC party and was hopeful that his nomination court papers will be signed by CCC leadership when the court sits tomorrow.

"I am CCC by blood and by tomorrow when the nomination court sits, I will know what my status in that party amounts to. Right now, I am not sure about the position of the party," said Mr Tandi.

His remarks come after CCC interim spokesperson for Manicaland Province Mr David Panganayi told The Herald that Ward 14 was already set to be represented by Mr Richard Masenyama because they had considered Mr Tandi as having moved on with the MDC-T.

"Tandi's issue is complicated because all along we considered him a member of the MDC-T. In ward 14 the people had chosen Masenyama as their candidate. So, with what is now happening in the case of Tandi, it means we have two candidates," said Mr Panganayi.

Mr Panganayi said with the nomination court sitting tomorrow, they are not sure how they will conduct internal party elections to determine the ultimate candidate.

"The nomination court is sitting tomorrow and we are not sure how we will conduct primary elections. But if we are to go ahead with primary elections, it means we will not rest. We will also await guidance from the national leadership," added Mr Panganayi.

Interim secretary for elections in the CCC party, Mr Ian Makone, said his party had not yet taken a decision on how it will resolve the matter unfolding in Mutare.

The issue of double candidates has become a characteristic feature in the CCC after it failed to address the anomalies in Bulawayo and Masvingo provinces.

In Bulawayo the party submitted papers for four candidates in Wards 9 and 26, while in Masvingo Urban's Ward 4 Thokozile Muchuchuti and Aleck Tabe both filed their nomination papers as candidates to contest in the March 26 by-elections.