The ruling ZANU PF party is confident of retaining the Chimanimani Ward 16 council seat in a by-election scheduled for March 14.
ZANU PF candidate Charles Chinamira told hundreds of party supporters at Duri Business Centre in Chimanimani district at a rally to drum up support ahead of the by-election that unity among party cadres will ensure his victory. He said:
I am quite confident that I will win the by-election. This is because of the unity that exists here and the knowledge among villagers that Zanu PF, led by Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, is making efforts to redress the challenges in our economy. Obviously that will not be achieved overnight but we will certainly conquer.
Chimanimani Ward 16 council seat, which covers areas such as Gwindingwi, Silverstream and Duri, among others, fell vacant after the death of a Zanu PF councillor, Tendai Nyabaya.
Nyabaya collapsed during the party’s annual congress last year and later died at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.
The MDC Alliance has fielded Lazarus Murada to snatch the seat that has been occupied by ZANU PF since independence in 1980.