HARARE – Zanu PF held onto the Bikita East constituency with a commanding victory in a by-election held on Saturday.
Clemence Chiduwa outpaced rivals with 7,119 votes to become the new MP.
The by-election was held to fill a vacancy left by the death of Zanu PF MP Caston Gumbwanda on June 23.
The MDC polled second with Derick Charamba Gudzameso taking 1,518 votes while Clemence Chavarika of the NCA had 83 votes and Lazarus Mubango of Free Zimbabwe Congress Party brought the rear with 63 votes.
In elections in July last year, the late Gumbwanda polled 8,855 votes with closest challenger James Gumbi of the MDC on 3,804 votes.
Turnout was 56 percent compared to approximately 80 in the July 2018 elections.
The independent election observation body, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) said while the Zaka East by-election took place in a “tranquil environment… it was fraught with threats of unspecified action by Zanu PF supporters should the party lose.”
“ZESN is concerned by the reported cases of the partisan behaviour of traditional leaders who mobilised the electorate in favour of Zanu PF and threatened their subjects with partisan exclusion from government benefits,” the election monitor added.
Meanwhile, an independent candidate upstaged both Zanu PF and MDC to win the Insiza Rural District Council ward 15 by-election.
Shepherd Juta took 287 votes to claim victory. Zanu PF’s Zenzo Moyo placed second with 163 votes, independent candidate Ndumiso Ndlovu was third with 89 votes and the MDC’s Ronald Mugadza came fourth with 86 votes. Bertha Jambwa of the NPF had 14 votes.
Juta’s victory is a massive swing from Zanu PF which had comfortably won the seat last year before the death of councillor Thembinkosi Ngwenya, a former chairman of the Insiza Rural District Council.
Ngwenya had polled 1,298 votes with the MDC’s Bhekimpilo Sibanda second on 670 votes and Somandla Sibanda of NPF third with 224 votes.
The council seat is in Filabusi town. Juta is a local businessman who operates grocery stores.
