ZANU PF’s primary elections in Bulawayo on Saturday were characterised by frustrated voters, delays and missing ballot papers.
The ruling party established 71 polling stations in Bulawayo for its primaries but some party members spent hours in queues even though voting was supposed to start at 7 AM.
According to CITE, in Ward 9, there were missing ballot papers for some of the candidates.
One of the candidates demanded that the voting process should be stopped as his name and supporters’ cell structures were missing.
However, the presiding officer, Matate Magura told the candidate he was not supposed to be there and also complained that some agents had insulted her.
Magura said voting started at 8.45 AM and was going smoothly until Mabuthweni voters realised their names were not appearing on the voters’ roll. She said:
I advised them to sit under the trees while I inquired from Davies Hall what happened to those cells. I was advised to continue working with the information that was there.
Magura’s remarks did not go well with the Mabuthweni voters who caused a commotion prompting her to call police officers to disperse them from the polling station.
She later informed the voters that their names had been located and they would be allowed to vote.
Some polling stations had no stationery. At a polling station in Ward 12 voting had not started at 11 AM, reported CITE.
Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister for Bulawayo, Judith Makwande Ncube was in the running for the women’s quota for the Pelandaba-Tshabalala constituency.
Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube and Industry and Commerce Deputy Minister Raj Modi sailed through uncontested for Cowdray Park and Bulawayo South constituencies, respectively.
ZANU PF political commissar Mike Bimha said all results will be officially announced at the National Command Centre at the party headquarters this week, once voting closes and due processes have been followed.
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