By Albert Mpofu
The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) in Zimbabwe has accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and a group called Forever Associate Zimbabwe (FAZ) of cheating in the recent nomination court. They say FAZ, which is connected to the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO), worked with ZEC to put multiple candidates under the CCC name. This was done to confuse CCC supporters.
CCC President Nelson Chamisa expressed his disappointment on Twitter. He called it a “big scam” and said that the fake candidates had copied the CCC logo and signatures. He explained that the real CCC logo is raised, not a copy like the fraudulent candidates used. He also said that authorized CCC officials did not sign these nominations, suggesting it was planned. Chamisa promised to take legal action and asked ZEC to solve the problem quickly.
Chamisa mentioned a law called Section 46 of the electoral act. This law allows parties to complain and ask for the removal of fake names. This complaint is supported by the fact that ZEC had asked parties for the names and signatures of their authorized nomination agents, which would be different from the ones used fraudulently.
The CCC had a press conference in the evening to give more information. CCC National Spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere said that the fraud was a “state-driven sting operation” that faked the party’s logo and signatures to put in papers for candidates that were not approved. She said that this fraud affected many constituencies in different cities. She said the party is treating it as fraud and forgery and has opened criminal cases. If the police do not take action, then it will show that the authorities are involved.
The CCC believes that these actions were planned to confuse the party and stop the desire for change. They think that the ruling party, ZANU PF, and its supporters are making up people to weaken the CCC. However, the CCC is determined and sure that these attempts will not stop their goal of change.
CCC supporters are advised to stay calm as the party looks into the situation. Lawyers across the country are working to fix the wrongdoing done by FAZ and helped by ZEC. The CCC wants to make sure the elections are free and fair from the start.
