By Wezhira Munya
Today, Masvingo city councillors will take the oath at 10 am in Civic Centre.
Masvingo urban CCC member of parliament, Advocate Martin Mureri, said, “We want to thank Masvingo urban for voting for President Chamisa, member of parliament, and all councillors. We appreciate your vote of confidence and will serve you to the best of our ability.”
In addition, Masvingo urban ward 5 councillor, Daniel Mberikunashe, salutes Masvingo urban Citizens for supporting and voting for CCC presidential, parliamentary, and council candidates overwhelmingly on August 23, 2023, harmonized elections.
The Citizens Coalition for Change [CCC], led by Advocate Nelson Chamisa, won 9 council seats, and Zanu PF won one.
Additionally, CCC managed to get 2 council seats from 30%, and Zanu PF got one seat [ward 10].
This means, in 2023, Masvingo CCC has 11 council seats, and Zanu PF has two seats.
Below are Masvingo urban CCC councillors:
Ward 1: Sabina Chikwangwani
Ward 2: Shantel Yeukai Chiwara
Ward 3: Maxwell Manduna
Ward 4: Alec Tabe
Ward 5: Daniel Mberikunashe
Ward 6: Wilstaf Sitemere
Ward 7: Tafara Masimba
Ward 8: Richard Musekiwa
Ward 9: Bernard Muchokwa
Those elected under 30%: Esther Zishiri and Alaika Time
Judging from the highest number of councillors CCC got, it’s a foregone conclusion that CCC will get Mayor, deputy mayor, and chairpersons of all committees.
CCC Masvingo urban cemented its dominance over Zanu PF by voting for President Chamisa, who got 15,500 votes, while Zanu PF candidate Emmerson Mnangangwa got 5,000 votes. President Chamisa defeated Zanu PF candidate Mnangangwa with a wide margin of 10,000 votes in Masvingo urban.
Also, CCC Masvingo urban member of parliament, Advocate Martin Mureri, got 13,500 votes, and Zanu PF candidate Mr. Wellington Mahwende got 6,000 votes.
Advocate Mureri defeated Mahwende with over 7,000 votes.
A close analysis of the results in Masvingo urban shows that Zanu PF aspiring member of parliament Mahwende and the majority of Zanu PF aspiring councillors got more votes than their president Mnangangwa.
The results show that President Chamisa Nelson outperformed his party CCC and Zanu PF candidates, revealing that he is more popular than the party, where Zanu PF president was outperformed by his party. It shows some members were voting for the councillors and MP candidate of Zanu PF and would go on to vote President Chamisa for the presidency. This justifies why we are saying CCC defeated Zanu PF, said Mr. Struggle Desire Nyahunda, who was Masvingo urban CCC member of parliament chief election agent.
This reflects that President Chamisa is more popular in Masvingo urban.
In 2018, Zanu PF won 3 wards in Masvingo urban, but in 2023, Zanu PF won one ward.
Also, in 2023, Zanu PF presidential, parliamentary, and council votes are lower than in 2018. This proves that Zanu PF is becoming more unpopular in Masvingo urban.
