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George Maponga in Masvingo

Zanu PF has grabbed the Masvingo City Council ward 2 seat from the opposition after its candidate Cde Benson Hwata won a by-election held in the ward on Saturday.

The by-election was necessitated by the  recent recalling of Ms Shantiel Chiwara who had won the ward on a CCC ticket during the August 23-24 hamronised elections and was subsequently elected the country’s oldest town’s youngest and first female mayor.

Cde Hwata polled 612 votes in Saturday’s by-election to help the ruling party grab the ward while Ms Chiwara of CCC managed 585 votes. An independent candidate and city lawyer Mr Frank Chirairo got 143 votes while another CCC candidate Mr Rocky Kamuzondo got 90 votes.

An elated Cde Hwata pledged to work for the development of Masvingo by implementing President Mnangagwa’s policies which seek to improve service delivery in the country’s towns and cities.

By grabbing ward 2 from the clutches of the opposition, Zanu PF now has three councillors in the council while the opposition has 11 councillors including those elected under proportional representation.