MDC-T primary polls abandoned

Politics
THE MDC-T contentious primary election to choose a legislator for the Emakhandeni-Entumbane constituency failed to take place yesterday,

THE MDC-T contentious primary election to choose a legislator for the Emakhandeni-Entumbane constituency failed to take place yesterday, as members of the national leadership supposed to conduct the poll failed to turn up.

REPORT BY BLONDIE NDEBELE

Prospective voters started gathering at the venue, Emakhandeni Hall, early in the morning, but had to leave after city council officials indicated that their time was up and should leave. The party’s provincial organising secretary and Pumula legislator Albert Mhlanga dismissed the crowd gathered at the venue, saying the process had been rescheduled for today.

“The national leadership that was supposed to oversee the voting process failed to come to the venue,” he said.

“We had booked the hall for 10am until 2pm. We saw that even if we had started the elections, we were not going to finish, so we are hoping that we will be able to finish everything by tomorrow.”

MDC-T ordered a rerun of the Emakhandeni-Entumbane primary election after a losing candidate complained about irregularities.

However, critics claim that the rerun was only a ruse by the party leadership to impose their favoured candidate, a charge that has been hotly denied.

However, Mhlanga said they had managed to hold primary elections for council candidates in a number of areas including Magwegwe and Njube-Lobengula, while Mpopoma also faced some “technical” problems, after someone who had not applied tried to contest, resulting in violence. “Where there is a problem, the leadership will advise us and provide a way forward,” he added.  Twitter feedback@Blondrex