Opinion / Columnist
Residents castigate candidate imposition in Bulawayo
20 Jun 2018 at 04:13hrs | Views
Bulawayo residents have castigated some political parties for imposing candidates for local government elections scheduled for 30 July 2018. Participants at a meeting organized by BPRA and WILD to share the findings of the Local Government Elections Survey – The Uncertainty of 2018 carried out between and October 2017.
Speaking on the side-lines of the meeting Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association Chairperson Mr Reason Ngwenya said the move taken by political parties is not unacceptable, all the candidates must come from the people, not from the parties. He said "Democracy is about people and people must choose their own candidates" "Parties that imposed candidates are likely to lose those council seats" He warned.
To guard against candidate imposition, the study urged political parties to evaluate the credentials of council candidates during primary elections and that parties must have a criteria for candidates which is competence and integrity based. The research rated the performance of sitting councillors as poor by 44.7%.
Media houses have reported that conflicts that have erupted in various political parties after allegedly imposition of some council elections candidates in some wards. To demonstrate the height of the fissures on candidate imposition, when the MDC Alliance presidential candidate Advocate Nelson Chamisa took to micro blogging platform- Twitter to complain about the allegedly refusal by Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to release the voters roll to MDC Alliance, Mr Lion oh Judah who is believed to the son of Mr Felix Magalela Sibanda MDC T Chamisa party spokesperson replied and said " Magwegwe folk begged for primary elections and you denied them. We have asked for sanctions against ZANU PF if they do not elections. I will be meeting @SenBooker over the selling of 210 congressional seats to personal friends of yours. Criminal. You are corrupt."
On the 18th of June 2018, Mr Mbuso Siso who has been deputy national information and publicity secretary confirmed on a Facebook post that the Professor Welshman Ncube led MDC has dismissed him for allegedly blocking imposition of Mr Nkanyiso Brezhnev Mathonsi to be a candidate for ward 2 Bulawayo Central seat. He accused Professor for his dictatorial behaviour and likened him to Mugabe regime that attempted to create a dynasty by imposing his wife.
The study further recommended that parties must prioritise council elections by fielding candidates with a traceable record of public service commitment than those preferred by those higher echelons of political parties.
Speaking on the side-lines of the meeting Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association Chairperson Mr Reason Ngwenya said the move taken by political parties is not unacceptable, all the candidates must come from the people, not from the parties. He said "Democracy is about people and people must choose their own candidates" "Parties that imposed candidates are likely to lose those council seats" He warned.
To guard against candidate imposition, the study urged political parties to evaluate the credentials of council candidates during primary elections and that parties must have a criteria for candidates which is competence and integrity based. The research rated the performance of sitting councillors as poor by 44.7%.
Media houses have reported that conflicts that have erupted in various political parties after allegedly imposition of some council elections candidates in some wards. To demonstrate the height of the fissures on candidate imposition, when the MDC Alliance presidential candidate Advocate Nelson Chamisa took to micro blogging platform- Twitter to complain about the allegedly refusal by Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to release the voters roll to MDC Alliance, Mr Lion oh Judah who is believed to the son of Mr Felix Magalela Sibanda MDC T Chamisa party spokesperson replied and said " Magwegwe folk begged for primary elections and you denied them. We have asked for sanctions against ZANU PF if they do not elections. I will be meeting @SenBooker over the selling of 210 congressional seats to personal friends of yours. Criminal. You are corrupt."
On the 18th of June 2018, Mr Mbuso Siso who has been deputy national information and publicity secretary confirmed on a Facebook post that the Professor Welshman Ncube led MDC has dismissed him for allegedly blocking imposition of Mr Nkanyiso Brezhnev Mathonsi to be a candidate for ward 2 Bulawayo Central seat. He accused Professor for his dictatorial behaviour and likened him to Mugabe regime that attempted to create a dynasty by imposing his wife.
The study further recommended that parties must prioritise council elections by fielding candidates with a traceable record of public service commitment than those preferred by those higher echelons of political parties.
Source - Michael Mdladla Ndiweni
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