BULAWAYO – The Citizens Coalition for Change’s recent success in two Matabeleland South local authority by-elections has offered the party renewed hope it can win back the province for the opposition in next year’s general elections.
The CCC won Bulilima Rural District Council wards 1 and 16 in the September 3 by-elections, and lost ward 14 to the ruling party Zanu PF party. All three were previously held by Zanu PF.
The victory was particularly sweet for the six-month-old opposition party as it was in the backyard of Zanu PF’s provincial chairman Mangaliso Ndlovu, in a province that has spectacularly flipped from the opposition to Zanu PF in recent years.
CCC acting treasurer David Coltart said the victory was “against all the odds.”
“This victory has been achieved against a brutal Zanu PF regime which has the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on its side,” Coltart said. “In other words, the victory has been obtained despite the electoral conditions, not because of them. We still have much to do before Zimbabwe is free.”
Zanu PF won just two of the 10 Matabeleland South parliamentary seats in the 2000 elections, with the rest going to the recently-formed Movement for Democratic Change.
The seats were cut down to seven after delimitation in the 2005 elections, and the opposition held four of the seats.
In 2008, the seats were increased to 13 and the MDC won 10.
Zanu PF took firm control of the province in 2013 when it won all 13 seats. The MDC clawed back Gwanda Central in 2018, but Zanu PF snatched the other 12 seats – confirming its dominance.
Political scientist Professor Jonathan Moyo believes the return of former MDC-T leader Thokozani Khupe to the ranks of the main opposition was a factor, insisting that she holds appeal in the Matabeleland regions.
Moyo also said Ndlovu would find himself in “water soup as Zanu PF Matabeleland South chairman, tourism minister and area MP.”
“He was outfoxed by Thokozani Khupe, who campaigned daily in the area, and proved the power of the Khupe factor in Matebeleland,” Moyo opined.
Some analysts say it is too early to draw conclusions about the opposition’s resurgence in the province, even as they say the victories will blow wind to the sails of the CCC ahead of next year’s general elections.
“The turn-out was pathetic and the margins too close and therefore it is inconclusive to show which party has a clear upper hand in the area,” political commentator and journalist Methuseli Moyo said.
“It still remains anyone’s game in 2023. However, the victory is a much-needed moral booster for CCC after their Gokwe Kabuyuni drubbing by Zanu PF.”
