The recalled Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) legislators have pledged to reclaim their seats in the December 9 by-elections.
This decision raises the possibility that CCC may field duplicate candidates in the open constituencies and wards, as was the case in the August elections, given that Tshabangu, the self-proclaimed interim CCC secretary-general who orchestrated their recall, identified himself as one of the official signatories for all participating CCC candidates.
Tshabangu revealed that he already has a list of candidates who will compete in December, which does not include the recalled members.
However, the recalled CCC members asserted that the party recognised “Innocent Chagonda and Sthabile Mlilo as legitimate members who would sign their nomination forms.”
“We have been informed that we will be contesting in the by-elections scheduled for December 9. Tshabangu has his own set of candidates, just like before,” said some of the recalled MPs, requesting anonymity due to the matter’s sensitivity.
The MPs also hinted that CCC might appeal the recent High Court ruling that dismissed their request for reinstatement to the Supreme Court.
Initially, CCC leader Nelson Chamisa had stated that the party would not participate in the upcoming December 9 by-elections, labelling the polls as a “muppet show” as he argued that both the by-election date announcement and Tshabangu-initiated recalls were conducted criminally.
Meanwhile, Obert Manduna, one of the recalled MPs from Nketa Constituency, expressed confidence in their ability to win.
“I have maintained my ties with the community through engagements, community programs, sports, and stakeholder visits. The community wants me to run, and I am confident that I will once again reclaim the constituency seat,” he said.
Manduna revealed that some of the projects he had started after his recall had been stalled because they required official government cooperation, which was difficult to obtain when one was not in Parliament.
“After winning again, it’s all systems go because we have lost a lot of time debating the recalls and being inactive, yet people expect so much more from us,” he said.
Pashor Raphael Sibanda, the recalled MP for Cowdray Park, also wrote on his X account on Monday morning: “We will not surrender the victory of our people to political vultures, hoaxers, and imposters in whatever form or shape.”
Last month in October, Tshabangu wrote to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) stating that only he and two others, Mbuso Siso and Jabulani Ncube, were the authorized signatories for CCC candidates who were to take part in the December 9 by-elections.
Tshabangu contended that the right to recall granted these signatories the authority to endorse and sign for the candidates.
“So, the party is going to use the same criteria they used because we have the database. We know who in this particular ward, in this particular constituency was the favorable candidate (in the selection process). Those candidates are there in our database. It’s a question of cut and paste and then putting in candidates who were selected by the people,” Tshabangu said at the time.
