Takunda Maodza Senior Reporter
ZANU-PF is expected to hold a spe­cial Politburo meeting soon to exam­ine the state of the party and address problems reported in some

of its provinces.
The revolutionary party has, in some parts of the country, been plagued with allegations of vote-rig­ging and friction in some provinces during district co-ordinating commit­tee elections.

The special meeting comes after a report by Zanu-PF national commis­sar Cde Webster Shamu showed that the party was experiencing problems that need urgent attention.
Party spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo confirmed the development in an interview saying the meeting will be held within a fortnight.

“The special Politburo meeting will discuss the state of the party. This is being done after the national political commissar has given the party a report on what is happening nation­ally.”

According to Cde Gumbo, Cde Shamu’s report required urgent atten­tion by the Politburo.
“He (Shamu) said there are chal­lenges in the party that need to be han­dled carefully,” Cde Gumbo said.
Zanu-PF, he said, decided to call for the special Politburo meeting to address major issues “rather than to treat them casually”.

“The issues would be discussed with­out glossing over some of the things to ensure that the traditional Zanu-PF way of doing things is restored,” Cde Gumbo added.
Last week President Mugabe called for unity in Zanu-PF and slammed the imposition of candidates during elec­tions.
Addressing hundreds of people who gathered at the National Heroes Acre for the burial of party deputy secretary for administration Cde Edson Ncube, the Zanu-PF First

Secretary and Presi­dent said vote-buying had no place in the party.
President Mugabe said there were some individuals in the party who were buying votes and influencing voting patterns during DCC elections.
“They go around and say do not vote for so and so. Ndiwe ani? Kuny­ora tut­samba kuti ava ndivo vanosun­girwa kuvhoterwa muDCC. You are destroy­ing the party for which people like Edson worked so hard,” he said.

President Mugabe urged party cadres to desist from vote-buying.
“Do your work. Let the people judge you. If they do not like you, they do not like you. We do not want imposi­tions. No!”
Problems have been reported within Zanu-PF’s Manicaland and Masvingo provinces. Last week, Cde Shamu sus­pended DCC election results in Mutare Urban, Buhera,

Nyanga, Makoni, Zimunya-Marange and Chimanimani and set up a team to investigate alleged electoral irregularities.
This was after disgruntled party members had demonstrated against the provincial leadership for allegedly mismanaging the polls.
The country is gearing for national elections this year and this normally ignites fights for positions within polit­ical parties, creating friction.