President Robert Mugabe’s ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) party won two parliamentary by-elections at the weekend, Zimbabwe media said on Monday, confirming its grip on the country’s rural areas.
The two by-elections, in the north-eastern constituency of Rushinga and the central constituency of Chikomba, were held to fill seats in the House of Assembly that fell vacant this year when the incumbents died.
The ruling party’s retention of the seats comes as little surprise. Rushinga and Chikomba were won by Zanu-PF in general elections held last year.
The more than 88% of the valid vote polled by Zanu-PF keeps Rushinga as the party’s safest seat, crowed Monday’s edition of the state-controlled Herald newspaper.
The paper reported that in Rushinga Zanu-PF candidate Lazarus Dokora won 13 642 votes while Kudakwashe Chideya of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) took 1 801 votes.
In Chikomba, which is also a bastion of Mugabe’s party, Zanu-PF’s Steven Chiurayi won 11 247 votes while the MDC’s Amos Jiri polled only 4 243.
The MDC, which marked its seventh anniversary with a rally in the capital Harare at the weekend, is still struggling to make inroads into rural areas that are the bedrock of Mugabe’s support.
The opposition party has been threatening since March to hold mass protests against Mugabe’s government over deteriorating economic conditions here, but the demonstrations have yet to materialise.
Meanwhile living conditions continue to worsen for the majority of Zimbabweans. Bread, flour and the staple maize meal are in short supply, as are medical drugs, fuel and foreign currency. Prices go up on a near-daily basis due to inflation of more than 1 204%. – Sapa-DPA