By Lulu Brenda Harris and Senzeni Ncube
The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) candidate nomination selection process, which began on Wednesday, was marred by confusion, logistical challenges and delays in some parts of the country.
A majority of party supporters and other interested parties who congregated at the different venues in Bulawayo were confused about how the nomination process will play out, highlighting an embarrassing gaffe by the opposition party, which claimed this process would be more democratic than primary elections.
Although CCC officials stated that the nomination procedures would begin at 10 am in the 29 venues dotted across Bulawayo, there were delays as people waited for the independent commissioners to work out the logistics.
The nomination forms were said to have been delivered from Harare on Tuesday, but in Bulawayo, at the CCC party provincial offices, which served as the command centre, the forms were only distributed to people there around 12 noon.
The centre was yet to distribute the nomination forms to the 28 venues resulting in frustration in some CCC supporters who claimed they had been waiting since 7 am, hoping for an early start while others actually left without participating.
Mr Ndachengedzwa, of Ward 15, Cowdray Park, said he was there to nominate Everson Chigondo as his choice but complained that he and his peers had come early in the morning but were still waiting for the process to begin by midday.
“People must respect time. We have been waiting here for hours and we are now hungry but because we are serious about change, we want to end hunger in our country, after we vote for change. But it is important to stick to the set time,” he said.
Another Ward 15 resident, Navison Chigondei, also raised concerns about the delay.
“We understand the importance of this work today which is why we have been here since 8.30 am and the people who are supposed to lead the process have not yet arrived. The nomination has delayed and others have actually left, by right we should have done this early,” he said.
At McDonald Hall in Mzilikazi, Ward 8 councillor Edwin Ndlovu, said it was pleasing to see people having come out in numbers to make their nominations but stated the party was not in charge of the process.
“Obviously as a party official and a councillor, we don’t control the processes. There is an independent electoral commission which is dealing with the nominations. We are now waiting for them, when they come, definitely people are ready to nominate their favourite candidates, we are just waiting for them,” he said.
Observers noted that the poor organisation and disorder displayed by CCC contributed to concerns about the integrity of the nomination process.
“Restoring trust in electoral processes whether internal at political party level or at national level is one of the key challenges, Zimbabwe is battling with,” said observers while some aggrieved party alleged the nomination process had already been influenced.
The independent commissioners mandated to oversee the nomination process could not comment as they were not given the green light to talk to the media.
However, party insiders at the command centre said the paperwork was delayed and that was the cause of the late start.
They also acknowledged that most people did not understand how the nomination worked.
“This process doesn’t care how many people are nominated. As long as you are nominated, your name will be noted. After the nomination, there is going to be a compilation of everyone who was nominated. The ward coordinators will announce on ground names of people nominated, they will then send their paperwork including their CVs to Harare where there is going to be a vetting process based on the set criteria,” the party insiders said.
Each ward was said to have received a batch of 80 nomination forms, of which supporters could collectively nominate their candidates on a single paper.
If there were any shortages, the commissioners could send more nomination papers, of which this happened to be the case at Ascot which was the venue for Ward 4 nominations under Bulawayo Central.
“After the nomination, the party will get a list of all names that will be sent to Harare. The commissioners job is to take the forms. They will not approve or disapprove names as the names go to Harare. This is where vetting will take place and the successful candidates will be announced. That list of successful name will be announced by the local commissioners,” said party insiders.
Chairman of residents of Mzilikazi District, Jacob Magutshwa, who was observing the process in the district, expressed hope that the process will be conducted peacefully and advised the party to unite to develop the ward.
“They should campaign in peace and remember that there is life after elections. We don’t want conflict, because its negative effects are usually seen after elections when you realise nothing has been done,” he said.
However, some ardent CCC supporters said they stood by the party and supported the selection process.
Macala Ngwenya from Ward 8 in Nguboyenja said the nominations were crucial as people had to know who their party candidates would be so they start campaigning in time.
“This is different from primary elections but here we hope to build a common understanding visions as a people by nominating people we can work with,” which were almost the same sentiments expressed by one Mr Dube in Ward 28 Cowdray Park.
