By Leonnel Mhuka
ZEC has been blamed for manipulating the election results, while ZanuPF is being blamed for perpetrating violence and intimidation against CCC members and supporters. Additionally, the police have been known to arrest CCC members, while ignoring or refusing to open cases against violent ZanuPF members. Eventually, SADC had to declare that the election was neither free nor fair.
In this case, the CCC agent for Ward 21 in Hurungwe Central revealed that they were coerced into signing V23 forms with inflated totals after collating results from different polling stations.
Background: It was later disclosed to the media that a total of eight ZEC officials, one security officer, and at least two agents each from CCC and ZanuPF were present in the room, whether at a polling station or ward command center.
Given the trend of manipulation, the ratio stands at 11:2, implying that only 2 CCC agents were present to safeguard the vote against 11 individuals.
In Hurungwe Central, specifically at the command center for Ward 21, a CCC agent was compelled to endorse results that had been inflated. The figures they had jointly recorded were disregarded, as presiding officers inputted unfamiliar totals without even summing up the entered data.
CCC Member of Parliament, Christopher Musochi, garnered a total of 943 votes; however, ZEC recorded 985 votes for him, whereas the ZanuPF candidate, Ziki, received a total of 3787 votes, but ZEC officials recorded 4000.
Due to the prevailing influence and the skewed ratio of opposing voices, CCC agents found themselves powerless to persist and succeed in their arguments.
