HARARE – Councillor Lovemore Maiko was elected mayor of Chitungwiza on Wednesday, seven months after the High Court nullified the election of Gift Tsverere.
Maiko, of the MDC, polled 16 votes to beat Zanu PF councillor Kevin Mutimbanyoka who got seven votes.
Two votes were spoilt, while two other councillors were absent.
Councillor Musa Makweza of the MDC was elected deputy mayor 16 votes, beating Zanu PF challenger Councillor John Matienga who got the backing of five councillors.
Chitungwiza has 21 councillors from the MDC and four from Zanu PF.
Three MDC councillors were assisted to vote because of problems with their eyesight.
Maiko vowed to tackle the water and sewer problems facing the city.
“We want to make sure that we meet the expectations of our people in terms of providing quality service delivery by making sure that we deal with issues to do with water and sewer reticulations and issues to do with solid waste,” he said after his election.
“We’re also going to deal with issues around infrastructure development, improving our road networks and also making sure that we do have space for small to medium enterprises.”
Tsverere and his deputy Jabulani Mtunzi, both of the MDC, resigned in February this year after being suspended by the order of a High Court judge after Mutimbanyoka challenged their election, arguing that the voting process had breached the rules.
