Zimbabwe’s newest opposition party wins majority of seats in by-elections

Zimbabwe's newest opposition party, the Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) won 19 parliamentary seats out of 28 on the ballot in the by-elections last Saturday, as ruling party Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) took the remaining nine, according to state broadcaster ZBC-TV on Sunday evening.

“Citizens came together and achieved a resounding victory for the movement,” said CCC spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere after the results were announced.

The long-awaited by-elections were held for parliamentary and local government seats to fill spots that had been vacant nearly two years. More than 100 local council positions were up on the ballot. The government had postponed the polls in 2020 due to Covid-19.

CCC party leader Nelson Chamisa set up his own party at the end of January after breaking with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in a legal battle over internal politics. The MDC gained no seats in the by-election.

Intimidation, vote-buying

Independent election observers assert that the by-elections were tainted by intimidation and vote-buying. CCC members allege that the ruling party had banned some rallies because there wasn't enough police to man the event.

Chamisa also said that police had tried to intimidate supporters from going to rallies over the two-month campaign period.

A CCC member was killed with a spear a few weeks ago while en route to a rally, while last month, 37 supporters were arrested.

Intimidation did not stop people from flocking to CCC rallies, however.

With a message that hearkened back to Zimbabwean strongman Robert Mugabe, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga spoke of the opposition like lice that needed to be “crushed.”

Independent observers, such as Zimbabwe Election Support Network said some candidates' conduct amounted to vote buying, including food distribution to voters.

Turn-out was higher than usual, especially in the rural areas, as observers noted that large numbers of people required assistance at the polls, which they believed was due to coercion.

This weekend's polls are seen as a dry run for national elections next year, as the CCC is hoping to defeat the ruling party, lead by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, which has been in power since 1980.

The final results for local government positions are expected to be announced later on Monday.