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Blessings Chidakwa in Kadoma
THE ZANU-PF Mashonaland West provincial leadership has set its sights on retaining the City of Kadoma Ward 2 council seat ahead of a by-election scheduled for next month.

The seat fell vacant after MDC-Alliance councillor Michael Gore was jailed four months ago for inciting public violence during the January violent protests.

Announcing the party’s primary election results for the winning candidate at the Zanu-PF district offices in Kadoma, presiding officer and provincial political commissar Cde Simon Solomon said the by-election was a chance for the ruling party to reclaim the seat from MDC-Alliance.

Cde Lloyd Nyambo was the outright winner with 101 votes followed by Cdes Maria Chikwari, Kudakwashe Chabuda, Nelia Jeke and Austin Musorowembudzi, who garnered 75, 65, 60 and four votes respectively.

Six votes were spoilt.

“The primary election is an internal process where there should be no celebrations as we are one family, June 8 is the actual date for Zanu-PF to be in a jovial mood after we come out in numbers to retain the seat from the opposition.

“The ruling party cannot be personalised, it’s for everyone. As for all the candidates here, you should start campaigning for the party since on June 8 we will all vote Zanu-PF not an individual,” he said.

Cde Solomon also discouraged losing cadres from standing as independent candidates on the election date as it was against the revolutionary party’s ethos.

Zanu-PF provincial vice chairperson Cde Dexter Nduna, who oversaw the running of the voting process, said unity should be key going forward.

“To ensure that the party wins, we have decided to conduct the elections differently. Previously, people voted using cell registers but the challenge was that some would fail to appear in the voters roll used on this election as a test run,” he said.

Cde Nduna emphasised that the party was supreme urging supporters to stop mudslinging and back-biting among each other.

The winning candidate, Cde Nyambo, said once voted into office, he would address perennial ward challenges including water woes, sewage bursts and ablution facilities.

He also refused to be tagged an underdog ahead of the by-election of a seat that MDC boasts of having won since 2000.