via Zanu-PF to start Central Committee elections | The Herald November 20, 2014
ZANU-PF provinces have been given the go ahead to start election of Central Committee members, with some positions being allocated based on performance during the July 31 2013 harmonised elections.
ZANU-PF political commissar, Cde Webster Shamu, wrote to provincial chairpersons last Friday advising them that they only had 14 working days to conclude the process to beat the December 2 deadline when the party’s 6th National People’s Congress is set to start in Harare.
“You are reminded to set the dates for nomination of candidates and holding of elections as a matter of urgency and inform the commissariat department in Harare for deployment of Politburo and Central Committee members to conduct the elections,” read Cde Shamu’s memo.
He said the Politburo sitting at its 280th ordinary session resolved that the allocation of Central Committee members for each province be based on the performance of the province during last year’s harmonised elections.
While Central Committee posts were equitably allocated on pro rata basis (10), women’s quota (5), youth and women national executives (2), it is the post per party strength during last year’s elections that separates the provinces.
Mashonaland Central province tops the list with 34 posts in all, 15 of them will be based on its performance at last year’s elections.
Mashonaland East has 33 posts after it was allocated 14 based on last year’s polls, while Masvingo comes third with 13 allocated posts based on the harmonised elections to make a combined total of 32.
Mashonaland West, Manicaland and Midlands were allocated 12 posts each based on the elections, with combined totals of 31 posts per province.
Harare has a combined allocation of 27 posts with eight allocated posts based on last year’s elections, Matabeleland North was allocated four posts based on the elections to make a combined total of 23, and Matabeleland South has a total of 22 after being allocated three posts based on the elections.
Bulawayo has the least number of posts with only one post allocated based on the elections, with a combined total of 20.
This makes a total of 284 posts from the provinces, while 16 other posts are filled by the President, two Vice Presidents, chairman, 10 Presidential nominees and two women and youth secretaries to make a total of 300 members to the Central Committee.
Posts in the provinces would also be equitably distributed per administrative district, with remainders being allocated based on performance during last year’s elections.
“The Electoral College will be composed of all district chairpersons from the main, women and youth leagues, provincial executive committee members, national assembly of the youth and women’s league, members of the national consultative assembly and outgoing members of the central committee from that province.
“The election process will begin with the selection of five Central Committee members to meet the women’s quota. This will enable the provincial congress co-ordination committee to identify administrative districts not represented, if any, so as to ensure equitable distribution of the remaining central committee positions,” said Cde Shamu.
He said election of Central Committee members under the women’s quota will be carried out and supervised by the Women’s League, while delegates to constitute the Electoral College for the women’s quota would meet at a women’s provincial inter district conference convened for that purpose.
Cde Shamu said the inter district conference for the Women’s League will also consider resolutions to be submitted to the main provincial inter district conference over and above the resolutions adopted at the Zanu-PF 6th National Women’s League Conference.
He said the second phase would involve the convening of the inter district conference in each and every administrative district to elect the candidates for central committee positions as allocated by the provincial congress coordination committee.
Cde Shamu said the elections would be conducted by members of the Central Committee or Politburo from other provinces through a secret ballot.
“No province is allowed to deviate from these directives nor allowed to make independent interpretation of the instructions contained herein,” he said.
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