Chamisa on course to bag top post

via Chamisa on course to bag top post 04 October 2014

MDC-T national organising secretary, Nelson Chamisa, appears on course to bag the secretary general’s post after he was nominated by Midlands Province on Saturday, bringing to seven the provinces that are backing him for the key post.

The nominations have not been without controversy though with his rivals in the party accusing the Kuwadzana East MP of manipulating the electoral process to secure victory. The Morgan Tsvangirai-led party heads for an elective congress in four weeks’ time.

The MDC-T acting secretary general, Tapiwa Mashakada, and party spokesman Douglas Mwonzora all vying to take over the secretary general’s post which was left vacant by Tendai Biti who jumped ship in April to head a break-away faction.

Of the 15 MDC-T provinces, seven have conducted their provincial elections with all those backing Chamisa. His rivals have however accused him of manipulating the process for his own benefit by carefully selecting delegates who attend the provincial congresses. Chamisa is the head of the organising department that is organising the logistics of the provincial elections.

“As you know the organising department handled the nominations and naturally if there is an interested party, they start with where they think they are strong, but watch what will happen in the next few days,” Mwonzora told the weekly Zimbabwe Independent newspaper. “So far only five (now seven) of the 15 provinces have done their nominations, but even then, there were some irregularities,” he added.

Some members of the party who spoke to this publication after the Midlands South provincial polls accused Chamisa of tinkering with the voting process. “He (Chamisa) is now manipulating the whole process. He is doing everything from the accreditation of voters.

There are some members who voted here but we do not know them, we are members of this province so there is no way he can know those who constitutes the provincial assembly more than us. “I don’t know what happened in other provinces but what happened here is not what we stand for as a party,” said an angry senior member of the party who requested anonymity.

Chamisa could not be reached for comment on the allegations.

Meanwhile, Lillian Acropol retained her position as MDC-T Midlands South provincial chairperson at an election held in Gweru on Thursday. Tsvangirai was nominated to retain the presidency with Chamisa being nominated for the secretary general’s post while Mwonzora was nominated for the position of party spokesperson. Mashakada was nominated for the post of treasurer general with Amos Chibaya being nominated for the national organising secretary’s post.