Zanu PF, CCC councillors vote against their own in Hwange RDC election
Unathi Mpofu
In an intriguing turn of events, Zanu PF and Citizens Coalition for Change councillors voted across party lines to elect Hwange Rural District Council chairperson and vice chairperson.
Pascal Mpofu of Citizens Coalition for Change is the new Chairperson of Hwange Rural District Council following his triumph over Zanu PF’s District Corodinating Committee Chairman Matthew Muleya in an election that saw some Zanu PF councillors voting against their DCC chairman.
Ndlovu polled 17 votes to Muleya’s 9 to land the coveted post. Results reveal that 3 Zanu PF councillors voted for CCC’s Ndlovu given that Zanu PF has 12 councillors in the Hwange RDC, the same number as CCC. 1 independent councillor and 1 MDC-T councillor complete the 26-member RDC.
It is a step up for Mpofu who previously served as the Hwange RDC Vice Chairperson in the 2018-2023 period.
In a move that probably demonstrates the Zanu PF DCC Chair’s unpopularity among fellow councillors, Vulindlela Mhlanga of Zanu PF won the election for the vice-chairperson position of the RDC.
Mhlanga polled 14 votes while another Zanu PF councillor who got into the RDC under the women’s qouta Caroline Siankope got 5 votes.
CCC candidate for the vice Chair’s post, Stanely Torima only managed to get 6 votes despite the fact that CCC has 12 councilors in the RDC, which can only mean that 6 of his party’s councillors voted Zanu PF.
The voting patterns in Hwange RDC voting patterns are unusual as councillors usually vote on party lines, having been whipped by parties to vote in a prescribed way with little regard for the candidates’ capacity.
