Zanu PF postpones primary elections

Zanu PF primaries have been postponed to a yet to be announced date.

The primaries, which were set to be held on March 18 have been postponed to a date after politburo meets on Monday (March 20, 2023) it has been announced by party National Commissar Mike Bimha.

The party’s political commissar, Mike Bimha, said ZANU PF Primary Elections will no longer be held tomorrow due to an overwhelming response by candidates vying to represent the party.

The primary elections are now expected to be held on a date to be announced after the Politburo meets on Monday.

At a press conference held on 17 March 2023 in the capital, Bimha said candidates who engage in violence will not be allowed to stand.

He added:

We want to encourage our candidates to conduct their processes peacefully because the President is always calling for peaceful engagements.

On a question about allegations of vote buying, we have said those with complaints should submit them to the ad-hoc Committee set up to attend to those complaints. Genuine complaints will be looked into. All submitted CVs have been taken on board. It’s up to those unfairly treated to come forward. We won’t entertain third-party complaints and should be submitted in writing. 

All the stationary and voting materials are in place. We believe everything should be ready by Sunday thereafter on Monday Politburo will meet to consider all the submissions that have been made. Once Politburo meets and approves candidates will be notified. We wait for the final say from Politburo on Monday. I can’t tell the day but it will be after Politburo.