By Albert Mpofu
The ZANU PF party is finding itself in a state of disarray as the unexpected entry of Saviour Kasukuwere into the presidential race continues to create divisions within its ranks. Just a week ago, the party was solidly campaigning for the re-election of Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa as their sole candidate for the upcoming August 23rd elections. However, Kasukuwere, a former ZANU PF government minister and youth mobilizer, recently announced his decision to run for president, posing a significant challenge to the party’s unity and potentially favoring the popular opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change.
While many ZANU PF supporters have chosen to remain silent about their allegiance between Mnangagwa and Kasukuwere, a small number have taken to social media to express their support for Mnangagwa. However, an unexpected turn of events occurred when the official ZANU PF Patriots Twitter account, boasting a substantial following of tens of thousands, inadvertently revealed their backing for Kasukuwere in the upcoming elections. The revelation came to light after Zimlive, an online newspaper, conducted a poll on Twitter asking users who they would vote for if the elections were held tomorrow. The poll results showed Nelson Chamisa leading with 77%, while Mnangagwa and Kasukuwere trailed behind with 9% and 8% respectively.
In an attempt to discredit the poll results, ZANU PF Patriots posted a screenshot from their account, accompanied by an image of a stadium filled with people, insinuating that the support shown for Chamisa on Twitter did not necessarily reflect the number of actual voters. However, the screenshot inadvertently revealed that the ZANU PF Patriots had voted for Kasukuwere, as evidenced by the visible checkmark next to his name. Zimlive’s editor, Mduduzi Mathuthu, quickly picked up on this revelation and publicly questioned the party’s support for Kasukuwere. ZANU PF swiftly deleted the tweet and later attempted to cover up the incident with another screenshot, presumably from a ghost account, but the damage had already been done.
Prominent journalist Hopewell Chin’ono commented on the situation, stating, “In an interesting but important development, ZANU PF Patriots voted for Saviour Kasukuwere on a Zimlive presidential poll. So, who supports the old man (referring to Mnangagwa) if his handlers are voting for his competitor within the party? We have your receipt here, ZANU PF Patriots. We now know that you don’t believe in Mnangagwa’s leadership, as exhibited by your vote for Saviour Kasukuwere. So, why should Zimbabweans vote for someone whose own party doesn’t support him?” suggesting that Zimbabweans should question why they should vote for someone whose party lacks faith in his leadership.
The turn of events and the poll showing in Chamisa’s favour will prove to be decisive in the 23 August election. Anylist say Kasukuwere’s entrance into the ring will divide the ZANU PF voters ,but leaves Nelson Chamisa support base intact and will propel him to wide margin win.
