Published: 07 May 2018

Aspiring presidential candidate Noah Manyika, who leads the opposition Build Zimbabwe Alliance (BZA) party, has slammed Zanu-PF for holding shambolic internal polls for legislative seats, saying it gave useful clues on how the ruling party was likely to use unorthodox means to win the forthcoming general elections.

Zanu-PF held its polls early last week that were marred by reports of violence and rigging.

Yesterday, the ruling party had to convene an urgent meeting of the politburo - its highest decision making organ in between congresses - to try and address numerous concerns raised across the country.

Manyika said the elections were an indictment on the Emmerson Mnangagwa administration's commitment to free and fair elections.

He also deplored the abuse of police officers and other security personnel by some powerful Zanu-PF candidates, which Mnangagwa himself has also criticised.

"As far as the primaries held last weekend are concerned, we are hearing from top Zanu-PF officials themselves that they believe their own processes where shambolic.

"Chris Mutsvangwa, for example, went to the extent of saying that the primary in Norton should be nullified because of the unconstitutional use of police officers as returning officers. He even went further to say the police were part of the rigging.

"That is not us in the opposition saying that. It's coming from them. One wonders if Mutsvangwa would say that if he had won.

"If all this is going on in Zanu-PF, you can't expect that they will be fair to the opposition. They are trapping people in poverty for political power and that is modern day slavery," said Manyika.

He also shredded the Zanu-PF manifesto which was launched on Friday in Harare amid pomp and fanfare, saying the Zanu-PF presidential candidate, Mnangagwa had nothing new to offer to the electorate since he has been part of Zanu-PF's administrative machinery for too long and had benefited from controversially held elections in the recent past.
- dailynews

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