The ruling ZANU PF party has expressed confidence in winning the Kwekwe Central Constituency seat ahead of a possible by-election for the vacant seat.
The seat fell vacant following the death of National Patriotic Front (NPF) MP Masango “Blackman” Matambanadzo, who died of suspected poisoning.
ZANU PF Midlands provincial spokesperson, Cornelius Mpereri said the party will take advantage of the crisis within the opposition ranks to reclaim the seat they last won in 2013. He said:
We are definitely reclaiming the seat this time around as we are emerging stronger than before. We have learnt from our past mistakes and this time we will make it right.
We are also taking advantage of the fracas in the MDC-A. They are currently at sixes and sevens and we will definitely be ruthless in such a situation.
While ZANU PF has not yet come up with a candidate, it is thought that the party’s previous candidate, Bishop Kandros Mugabe and Energy “Dhala” Ncube, are the frontrunners.
Matambanadzo won the seat on a ZANU PF ticket during the 2013 elections before again winning it on an NPF ticket after he was expelled from the ruling party.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is still to come up with a solid decision on whether to conduct by-elections or not due to the coronavirus crisis.