Connect with us

National

CCC wins majority of Zimbabwe’s by-election seats in key political test

Published

on

BY GODFREY YORK AND JEFFREY MOYO

Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, defying a police campaign to shut down its rallies, has won a majority of seats in much-anticipated by-elections that were seen as a key test of its strength.

Advertisement

The sweep by the opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change, or CCC, shows it will remain a threat to the ruling party, Zanu PF, which has dominated the country for more than four decades since its independence.

The CCC won 19 of the 28 seats in the Saturday by-elections, in which about 10 percent of parliamentary seats were at stake. It also won a majority of local council seats in the by-elections, according to preliminary results released on Sunday.

The much-delayed by-elections, originally scheduled for 2020, were a crucial challenge for opposition leader Nelson Chamisa after years of official pressure against him.

Advertisement

He will make another bid for power in national elections next year. But his supporters have faced frequent harassment and intimidation tactics from the government and police.

Vice president Constantino Chiwenga compared the opposition to insects that must be destroyed.

“You see how we crush lice with a stone,” he told a rally of the ruling party last month.

Advertisement

“That is what we are going to do to the CCC.”

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, in his final rally before the by-elections, vowed that his party “will rule forever.”

His predecessor in the ruling party, Robert Mugabe, had remained in power for 37 years until he was toppled in a military coup in 2017.

Advertisement

In the lead-up to the by-elections, Zimbabwean police had banned several of the opposition party’s rallies and arrested dozens of its supporters.

At campaign rallies, several opposition supporters were killed or injured by suspected Zanu PF supporters.

Chamisa said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was clearly biased in favour of the ruling party.

Advertisement

He said the commission had refused to allow the opposition to exercise its legal right to inspect the registry of voters.

State media largely ignored or denigrated the opposition, despite laws requiring fair coverage.

Until this year, Chamisa’s opposition party was known as the Movement for Democratic Change, or MDC – but he was forced to create a new party in January after a series of controversial court rulings that allowed a small breakaway faction to take control of the party.

Advertisement

The faction then expelled dozens of opposition MPs from parliament in 2020 and 2021, leaving vacancies that lasted until the by-elections this past weekend.

Many analysts said the ruling party had covertly supported the factional manoeuvring and court rulings in an attempt to weaken the opposition by dividing the MDC.

Mnangagwa denied the allegation.

Advertisement

On election day, some Zimbabweans said they were turned away from polling stations because their names were not on the official registry.

“I’m supposed to vote here, but I have just been told that my name is not on the voters’ roll,” said Melvin Gombiro, a 27-year-old CCC supporter who was turned away from a voting station in Mabelreign, a Harare suburb.

“Rigging is under way, and I know Zanu PF wants to steal this election,” he told The Globe and Mail.

Advertisement

Chamisa, in an interview with The Globe, said the government is violating Zimbabwe’s constitution by persecuting the opposition and manipulating the election.

“They ban us because they are afraid of what a free and liberated citizenry will mean for their authoritarian rule,” he said.

“Because Zanu PF is unpopular, it resorts to violence and intimidation,” Chamisa added.

Advertisement

“We need to win big, by wide margins and with a landslide, to avoid the vote being manipulated.”

Despite the threats of violence or arrest, thousands of Zimbabweans still flocked to the opposition party’s campaign rallies.

Many were angered by the deteriorating economy, widespread poverty and unemployment, and the collapse of the national currency.

Advertisement

“I want change,” said Luke Chibvuri, a 36-year-old motor mechanic. “I am struggling. I get paid peanuts at work.”

He said he was worried that the police would disrupt the rally, but he still arrived early at the CCC’s final election rally in Epworth, on the outskirts of Harare.

Opposition activists accused the government of sending armed riot police to opposition strongholds to deter people from attending CCC rallies.

Advertisement

“They’re creating an environment of fear, trying to scare people away from our rallies,” said Happymore Chidziva, a senior official in the party.

“They make it appear as if there’s a war. They intimidate people.”

Despite the CCC victories in a majority of the by-election seats, observers cautioned that the party could struggle in next year’s national election.

Advertisement

The opposition still has significant weaknesses in rural areas, where Zanu PF remains strong.

“Many of the rural communities depend on the state-controlled media, and this has been detrimental to the opposition,” said Rashweat Mukundu, a Zimbabwean political analyst. – The Globe and Mail

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

National

Zimbabwe on track for 6% growth as economy recovers from drought

Published

on

BY REUTERS

Zimbabwe is on track to achieve a forecasted 6% economic growth in 2025 helped by good agricultural output and strong commodity prices, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said on Thursday.

Advertisement

The Southern African country’s economy has shown signs of recovery in the first half of the year following a severe drought and currency turbulence in 2024 that pushed GDP growth down to 2%.

“Given the positive economic developments during the period January to June, we are confident that the projected economic growth of 6% alluded to in the 2025 National Budget is achievable,” Ncube told parliament in a mid-year budget review.

“All sectors of the economy are expected to record positive growth in 2025, mainly on account of a favourable agriculture season, improved electricity generation, stable exchange rate and inflation rate,” he said.

Advertisement

He did not give an update on the budget deficit, which was seen at 0.4% of gross domestic product in 2025 during the budget forecast last November.

Zimbabwe’s fiscal position remains under strain from grain imports, drought relief spending and the public sector wage bill. While the government has collected more revenue than in the same period last year, analysts say containing the deficit may prove difficult without new fiscal measures.

The local currency, the ZiG, launched in April 2024 to replace the Zimbabwe dollar, has largely remained stable against the U.S. dollar but is still overshadowed by widespread use of the dollar in everyday transactions.

Advertisement

Ncube reiterated the government’s commitment to the gold-backed unit and said the currency had benefited from tight monetary and fiscal policies.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

National

Malaria cases surge in Zimbabwe

Published

on

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Zimbabwe is experiencing a dramatic surge in malaria cases, with 111 998 cases and 310 deaths reported as of epidemiological week 23 in 2025.

Advertisement

This is a significant increase from the same period in 2024, which saw 29 031 cases and 49 deaths.

According to Dr Memory Mapfumo, an epidemiologist at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), “This surge is no coincidence. Prolonged rains have fueled mosquito breeding, while activities like gold panning, fishing, and artisanal mining are exposing more individuals to risk, especially during peak mosquito activity hours.”

The situation is worsened by the low use of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), leaving communities exposed and placing further strain on already stretched health systems. Across Zimbabwe, 115 out of 1 705 health facilities have been affected, highlighting the widespread impact of the disease on healthcare infrastructure.

Advertisement

Mashonaland Central Province has accounted for 32% of all malaria cases, while Manicaland reported 25% of the malaria-related deaths. The interconnectedness of the countries in the region has also contributed to the spread of the disease.

Zimbabwe’s malaria outbreak is part of a broader regional trend. Other countries in southern Africa, including Botswana, eSwatini, and Namibia, are also experiencing significant increases in malaria cases.

In Botswana, 2 223 cases and 11 deaths have been reported, with Okavango being the hardest hit. eSwatini has recorded 187 cases, with children under 15 and farmers being particularly affected. Namibia has seen over 89 959 cases and 146 deaths, with the majority of cases being local transmissions.

Advertisement

The Africa CDC emphasizes the need for continued vigilance and investment in malaria control. Governments must enhance their efforts to improve the use of ITNs, strengthen community engagement, and address environmental and social factors driving the outbreaks.

Dr Merawi Aragaw, head of Africa CDC’s Surveillance and Disease Intelligence, notes that “as climate change accelerates, we are witnessing shifts in temperature and rainfall that are expanding the range of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, introducing vectors into previously unaffected regions.”

According to Dr Aragaw, “sustained vector control measures – including environmental management, strengthening surveillance, drug and diagnostic resistance monitoring, and fostering cross-border collaboration – will be critical in mitigating the growing threat of vector-borne diseases, especially malaria.”

Advertisement

The regional surge underscores a broader global trend, with malaria cases worldwide climbing to 263 million in 2023, up from 252 million the previous year, and Africa accounting for 95% of all malaria-related deaths.

Despite these alarming figures, there have been significant successes: Cabo Verde was certified malaria-free in 2023, and Egypt is poised to achieve the same in 2024. Yet for many countries in southern Africa, the road to elimination remains steep, with outbreaks threatening to reverse years of progress.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

National

Government unveils plan to curb road accidents

Published

on

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Minister of Information, Publicity, and Broadcasting Services, Jenfan Muswere, has outlined a series of measures to combat the rising tide of road traffic accidents in the country.

Advertisement

Zimbabwe has been witnessing a worrying surge in road traffic accidents, with the latest incident claiming 17 lives last week, along Seke road.

Yesterday, Muswere addressed the cabinet, outlining measures to curb road traffic accidents. Below is his statement, word for word:

“So capacitation of the vehicle inspection is ongoing and the sourcing of the vehicle inspection department. Compliance to legislation is also one of the parameters that we are utilising.Standardisation in terms of driving schools, the training of drivers, speed limits as a governance to traffic monitoring, the utilisation of traffic management, the utilisation of cameras for number plate recognition and facial recognition in order to curb over speeding and traffic offences. The capacitation of the Zimbabwe Republic Police in order to apprehend and also deal with traffic offences. Legislation amendments that are taking place in order to ensure that our roads are safe. As the minister (Felix Mhona) has also highlighted that the Civil Protection Unit is being capacitated in order to deal with the challenges that we might not have been able to deal with as part of an architecture under the hall of government approach.”

Advertisement

Background statistics from the Zimbabwe Republic Police reveal a concerning trend. During the first six months of 2025, the country recorded 28 159 road traffic accidents, up from 25 968 in the same period last year. Fatal crashes also increased by 11% from 784 to 870, while road deaths rose by 4.9% from 1 037 to 1 088. The majority of accidents occur in known danger zones, often due to commuter congestion and erratic driving by public transport operators.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2022 VicFallsLive. All rights reserved, powered by Advantage