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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke Manicaland Bureau
Zanu-PF Manicaland Province was yesterday conducting a verification exercise of its cell structures as aspiring candidates waited to start campaigning ahead of the primary elections slated for next Sunday. Provincial secretary for administration Cde Kenneth Saruchera yesterday told The Herald that Manicaland had not yet received the official list of candidates hence there was no activity on the ground.

He said the ball would start rolling as soon as the communication from the national political commissariat reached them.

“We have not yet received the official list of candidates from the national political commissariat, so there is nothing on the ground yet in terms of campaigning. But what is going on at the moment is verification of cell registers by a team from the national political commissariat,” he said.

He said the team, led by deputy national political commissar Cde Omega Hungwe was conducting the verification process in all districts.

The verification process started on Friday last week and will continue until tomorrow.

“We want to make sure that all the people in the cell registers are actual voters on the ground and also see to it that those people we might have missed are registered because these registers will be used as our voters’ roll during the primary elections,” said Cde Saruchera.

Zanu-PF has put up an arrangement where all the aspiring candidates in the primary elections will campaign at one venue with each one of them given an opportunity to sell him or herself to the electorate.

This, according to national political commissar Cde Englebert Rugeje, was being done to ensure no candidate denigrates other candidates and foster unity among the Zanu-PF members.

A total of 109 candidates are set to battle it out for National Assembly seats in Manicaland.

While some constituencies had up to seven candidates, two candidates in Buhera North and South were unopposed, a development which shows popularity of the sitting legislators in these areas. Buhera South is represented by Cde Joseph Chinotimba while Buhera North is represented by Cde William Mutomba.

Buhera Central and West will each have six candidates in the primaries while Chipinge West, South, East and Central will field four, five, two and four candidates respectively.

In Chimanimani, nine candidates will contest for the National Assembly seats with five candidates coming from Chimanimani East and four from Chimanimani West.

Headlands will field a total of seven candidates while Makoni South has five candidates, Central (2), North (5) and West (9).

Mutare Central constituency will see Cde Nancy Saungweme battle it out with Cde Argument Mbengo and Cde Pamela Razemba while Cde Esau Mupfumi will battle it out with seven other candidates in the Chikanga-Dangamvura constituency.

In Mutare North Zanu-PF Manicaland provincial chairman Cde Mike Madiro will face competition from Cde Batsirai Pemhenai, Cde John Netsiyamwa and Cde July Manyewu.

Other constituencies that will be tightly contested are Mutasa North and South as well as Nyanga North and South.