ZANU PF NOT READY FOR ELECTIONS!

Analysts have said that the party’s just ended primaries raised problems that have dismantled the party, raising chances of a poor showing in elections. There have also been a series of protests from disgruntled Zanu (PF) supporters at the party’s headquarters in Harare this month. The protests were triggered by chaotic scenes at the party’s primary elections, the imposition of candidates and allegations of rigging in the counting process. Political analyst, Ibbo Mandaza, said that it was surprising that Zanu (PF) was the least prepared party yet they were the ones calling for early polls. He said Zanu (PF) needed more time to put their house in order before they could make a meaningful challenge in the next elections.

“What is surprising is that the MDC is more prepared than Zanu (PF) at this stage. If you look at the MDC primary elections, they were smooth compared with Zanu (PF)’s hurried primary elections. Zanu (PF) needs more time to strategise,” said Mandaza. Another political analyst, Alexander Rusero, said: “If you look at Zanu (PF), you will see that on the ground, it’s almost non-existent. At the moment Zanu (PF) is in disarray. They do not have any meaningful structures but they do have access to electoral processes. Whilst the MDC exists on the ground, the rigging machinery is still intact,” said Rusero. The Director of the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute, Pedzisayi Ruhanya, said that the MDC-T had the upper hand in terms of preparations for the next polls. “There are issues to do with imposition of candidates in Zanu (PF) and the decision by popular candidates to run as independents. Their primary elections were not that smooth. Zanu (PF) claimed they were going to hold primary elections in one day but they ended up using the police and army and that alone tells you that the party does not have structures at all,” said Ruhanya.