The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) will not conduct primary elections to select candidates to stand at the council, parliament, and presidential level in upcoming general elections.
Instead, the CCC says communities will select suitable party representatives to contest the 2023 elections on Wednesday 5 April.
This was announced by CCC elections officer Ian Makone while addressing a news conference in Harare on Thursday.
Makoni said the process is going to be overseen by an Independent Candidate Selection Panel (ICSP).
He said only communities that have signed into the CCC’s database will select the party representatives. Said Makone:
The selection process will be conducted by an ICSP and community members who have signed into the party’s database will be consulted to nominate their preferred representatives.
In the event that more than one nominee comes up for a position, there will be a process of consultation in the community, followed by a second round of interface with the community to arrive at a single candidate for the elected position.
All nominated individuals will undergo an internal vetting process to ensure their suitability for the position.
The selection process will be presided over by an Independent Candidate Selection Panel, which is composed of independent eminent members of the community.
The validation process will be a complicated one, and a grievance-handling committee will be in place to address any complaints from candidates who feel they have been shortchanged.
The nomination process will commence on April 5th, and the party will be present in all the wards nationally.
If more than one nominee emerges from the process for any electable position, the Citizens National Assembly will convene to provide directions in terms of the consensus-building process.
According to ZimLive, CCC’s candidate selection criterion is unprecedented in the history of Zimbabwe’s mainstream politics.
The ruling ZANU PF conducted primary elections over the past weekend, with cases of violence reported from some polling stations.
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