Recalled Seke Member of Parliament Willard Tapfumanei Madzimbamuto says he will seek to reclaim his seat in the by-elections as an independent candidate.
Madzimbamuto is among more than a dozen Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) MPs recalled by Sengezo Tshabangu since October 2023.
Tshabangu, who claims to be CCC’s interim secretary general, justified the recalls of the elected representatives saying they had ceased to be members of the party.
Posting on X, Madzimbamuto vowed to run for the seat again but not as a CCC candidate. He said:
For the avoidance of doubt and clarity, l will be participating in the by-elections as an independent candidate.
Madzimbamuto did not explain why he decided to go independent but just a few days before the 09 December by-elections, a High Court judge barred recalled CCC MPs from participating in the polls as CCC candidates.
As a result, all the party’s nine candidates were removed from the ballot papers, allowing ZANU PF to win seven of the nine seats, with the other seats won by Tshabangu’s candidates.
In the August 2023 general elections, Madzimbamuto narrowly won the seat after he garnered 14 032 votes.
The ZANU PF candidate, Tobia Munyaradzi Kashambe received 13 277, while DUZ’s Frederick Muzanenhamo polled 235 votes in the largely rural constituency.
More: Pindula News