Zimbabwe’s main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) got more than 78 percent of the parliamentary seats contested in a by-election held on Saturday, according to figures published by the country’s electoral commission late on Sunday.
The CCC, led by the youthful Nelson Chamisa and formerly known as the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance until February, grabbed 22 of the 28 National Assembly seats that were contested, while the governing ZANU PF of President Emmerson Mnangagwa got six.
The by-elections were called by Mnangagwa following the surprise recall of 24 serving MDC Alliance members of parliament from the National Assembly by a splinter grouping called MDC-T, which had ironically failed to garner seats during the 2018 general elections where these lawmakers were elected under the MDC Alliance banner.
The other four seats fell vacant following the deaths of the lawmakers.
The by-election also included a poll to select 128 local government councillors who were similarly recalled by MDC-T led by Douglas Mwonzora.
The CCC was formed last month after MDC-T shocked the nation by claiming that it would contest the by-election using the MDC Alliance banner, a name it knew was already taken by Chamisa’s grouping.
Most observers did not give the CCC much chance ahead of the by-elections, given the dirty tricks employed by ZANU PF and the police in the run-up to the polls – including being barred from campaigning under the pretext that the police were short-staffed.
MDC-T apparently had the backing of ZANU PF and has been the beneficiary of controversial judgements by the judiciary, including being allowed by the courts to recall from parliament elected lawmakers who belonged to another party.
JN/APA