BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
The Douglas Mwonzora-led MDC Alliance has recalled eight councillors in Matabeleland North after accusing them of working with the Nelson Chamisa-led Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).
According to MDC-T spokesperson Witness Dube, the eight councillors from Binga and Victoria Falls were fired last week for supporting CCC.
MDC-T leads the MDC Alliance, the opposition coalition that won parliamentary and council seats during the 2018 elections while still under the leadership of Chamisa before Mwonzora took over under controversial circumstances.
Mwonzora’s party has been wielding the axe against elected representatives who are still loyal to Chamisa and the latest recalls followed months of a lull in the removals.
Dube insisted in an interview with VicFallsLive that the recalls were being done to protect the interests of voters.
“When we do recalls as a party we do them in accordance with section 12K of the national constitution, which gives any party authority to recall any public official who would have ceased to be their member through whatever means and we have a right to recall them so as to protect the vote of the people,” he said.
“It is true that we have recalled councillors in Binga and Victoria Falls in line with the same constitutional provisions (because) they are now supporting other political parties while still serving our term.
“Councillors were elected in 2018 under the MDC Alliance banner, so for them to then turn around and support other political parties is illegal and it is a misrepresentation of the 2018 votes.
“In this case we even had a very awkward situation whereby people stopped belonging to MDC Alliance and started belonging to a newly formed political party which has no policy document, which has no constitution, which has no manifesto, which is even just following individuals and that is very unfair to the voting public in Zimbabwe.”
In Victoria Falls two councillors were recalled namely Thuso Moyo from ward seven and Joseph Dzangai from ward eight.
From the Binga Rural District Council the recalled councillors are Wilson Siampolomba from Kariangwe ward, Matheas Mudenda (Simatelele), Kingson Mpofu (Kalungwizi), Joseph Mwembe (Sikalenge), Chrispen Munkuli (Lubimbi) and John Sikabotu (Siachilaba).
Dube said the purge would leave the party with loyal members only.
“We want to pause and paint the problem that this creates,” he said.
Dube said when political parties go to elections they present their manifestos and the assumption was that once people were elected into public offices they would abide by the policies.
“This movement of public officials from one party to another during their term of office or during the exercise of their duties is not in line with the constitution because the voters would’ve voted for the policies of the party that they represent even in their manifestos,” he added.
Dube said the MDC intended to fill the vacancies created by the recalls once by-elections are hrld, but in the meantime the remaining councillors will have to cover wards that do not have representatives.
MDC Alliance has not contested in by-elections since it was humiliated by CCC in the March 26 by-elections.