Zanu-PF chickens out of by-elections

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has reportedly chickened out of another potentially expensive round of parliamentary by-elections and instead resorted to "phony suspensions" of "rebel" party officials who under normal circumstances would have been expelled and recalled from Parliament, NewsDay reported.

Party sources yesterday also said the suspension route was adopted as a cost-cutting measure after realising that another round of by-elections would drain its coffers as the "witch hunt" of all legislators linked to ousted former Vice-President Joice Mujuru would have exposed nearly 100 MPs.

The sources said the party also feared the prospect of losing some of its key rural seats to independent candidates if it went ahead with plans to expel the so-called Gamatox MPs and recall them from Parliament.

The legislators were accused of fanning factionalism and conniving with Mujuru to overthrow Mugabe.

Zanu-PF's politburo last week expelled seven former ministers and suspended 13 MPs for periods ranging from two to five years, but it has since emerged that the "suspensions" were adopted as a smart way of circumventing a financially-crippling snap poll that would have drained both the party and government's resources.

Instead, the party would now have to contend with only three fresh by-elections to fill the seats left vacant by the expulsion of former Masvingo Provincial Affairs minister Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, ex-Mashonaland East chairperson Ray Kaukonde and Mbire MP David Butau.

If Zanu-PF had taken the route of expelling all legislators linked to the Mujuru faction, the axe would have fallen on several former key officials among them Nicholas Goche, Amos Midzi, Tendai Savanhu, Munacho Mutezo, Christopher Chigumba, Enoch Porusingazi, Callisto Gwanetsa, Chiratidzo Mabuwa and Tranos Huruba, to name but a few.