Zimbabwe: Zanu-PF Grabs Chinhoyi Council Seat Amid CCC Boycott, Voter Apathy

THE ruling party, Zanu PF has won the Chinhoyi Ward 14 seat in a by-election which the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) boycotted.

Of the 2,339 registered voters in the ward, only a third turned out to cast their ballots. A NewZimbabwe.com crew witnessed the low voter attendance at the main polling station at Alaska Dolomite Primary School.

Despite the apathy by the majority of the electorate, Zanu PF candidate Solomon Bizwork garnered 599 votes against his rival Hope Zimbiri, who scrapped only 194 votes. Statistics show that the turnout was 33 percent of registered voters.

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) presiding officer, Taona Pfunye confirmed the results as posted at the polling station.

Bouyed by support from Zanu PF bigwigs, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa's advisor, Paul Tungwarara ahead of polls, Biswork promised to champion infrastructural development, including six boreholes to ease water supply crisis in the mining settlement, fixing roads and initiating community business start-ups.

On the other hand, Zimbiri pursued a quiet election campaign if any, never convened a single rally and was literally off the media's radar.

The Chinhoyi Ward 14 post fell vacant following the jailing of then-councillor and deputy mayor Chipo Mlotswa on fraud charges involving double-dipping in the allocation of land. Her sentence was however commuted to community service.

Meanwhile, in Harare's Epworth Ward 6, Zanu PF candidate Civilised Bushe won by a huge margin, amassing 3,022 votes trailed by MDC-T's Alice Nyahunzvi, who managed 120 votes, while independent candidate Peter Nyapetwa got a measly 23 votes.

ZEC presiding officer, Chenjerai Chirere confirmed the results.

Read the original article on New Zimbabwe.

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