DCC elections, Zanu PF changes tact
ZANU PF has been forced to shelve its original plan to have polling officers in the district coordinating committee (DCC) elections due to financial and logistical constraints, it has emerged.
As a result, the ruling party has now resolved that the teams to supervise polling will comprise of senior leaders from the politburo, a commissariat commissioner, a provincial chairperson and a team from the province.
The ruling party has also demanded that the registers that were used for the 2018 general elections must be used for the DCC polls slated for December 5 and 6 in eight provinces.
In a letter addressed to provincial chairpersons from the party director for commissariat, Davison Gomo dated November 28, the ruling party polls will now be supervised by senior politburo members, who will be deployed in provinces as the new plan was “no longer sustainable”.
“Due to logistical and financial constraints, the original plan where all polling officers were meant to come from a supervising province is no longer sustainable,” Gomo’s letter read in part.
“The supervising team will be made up of senior leaders from the politburo, one commissariat commissioner, provincial chairpersons and a team from his or her province, from whom the presiding officer will be appointed.
“Consequently, the polling officers, at ward centre level will be selected from senior members of
the party.”
In another letter of the same date, Gomo asked the provincial chairpersons to “facilitate the provision of district executive registers that were used in the 2017/18 polls for the general election of 2018”.
“The leadership determined that the forthcoming DCC elections will be conducted on the basis of the registers referred to above and therefore, there is urgent need to make these available to us at the earliest convenience possible.”
Only four provinces, Gomo said, had availed their registers by Sunday ahead of yesterday’s deadline.
The DCC elections will be held this week amid reports of divisions and tussling to control the districts.
There were reports of namedropping President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga by candidates as they jostle for positions.