Primary Elections and Community Development in Chipinge District

Owen Dhliwayo

Chipinge district participated in the primary elections. These primary elections were a platform for people to select one person out of many to be the desired representative for the forthcoming harmonised elections. The people who participated in the just ended primary elections were of the opinion that the process will be done according to the respective party’s guidance and rules but were turned into a turf related battle that affected social cohesion with the ultimate loser being the common villager. PYD as a community based organisation believes that primary elections are an internal democratic form of recruitment of personnel into public offices, and that the process ought to involve rules and regulations that are designed to ensure a certain degree of fairness and justice to all concerned. According to Ezimah (2004) Community Development is the economic, physical and social revitalization of communities led by the people who live in that community. Again, community development is integrative as it includes people of different sexes, ages, religious and political viewpoints and even stages of development. Thus, the electoral process is envisaged as an element that can help integrate policies, beliefs and ideologies into a whole functioning community

Zanu PF and the MDC Alliance were involved in the primary elections to select their candidates for the forthcoming harmonised elections. Zanu PF had primary elections in Chipinge Central, Chipinge East, Chipinge West, Chipinge South and Musikavanhu Constituencies, whereas the MDC Alliance had their own primary elections in Chipinge East and Chipinge West Constituencies, with Musikavanhu Constituency and Chipinge South results still being contested. Chipinge Central was allocated to their alliance partner, Zanu Ndonga and Chipinge South allocated to a youthful candidate under their youth quota system. The primary elections were characterised by heavy contestations culminating in chaotic, violent scenes and malpractices attributed to lack of organisational capacity within the respective political parties. In some instances, voting was delayed due to ballot papers without names of contesting candidates. Again, there were cases of vote buying, intimidation and bussing in of purported supporters so as to influence the outcome of the voting process. On average there were four (4) people at every given position vying for the sole ticket to be representatives either in local authorities or house of assembly.

Chipinge district has more women voters (64 427) than male registered voters (41 160) but the primary elections produced male representatives as can be deduced from the table below. There is a glaring absence of gender balance as women appear to have been left out of the political decision making. This scenario where women failed to be elected will surely affect community development as gender balance normally brings a very positive and sustainable development in Chipinge district. This will minimize the conflict in the society and will enhance and boost up the development activities.

Constituency	Zanu PF	MDC Alliance
Chipinge Central	Raymond Machingura	Reketai Semwayo (alliance partner)
Chipinge East	Winmore Mlambo	Mathias Muyambo
Chipinge South	Enock Porusingazi	Clifford Hlatwayo*
Chipinge West	Adam Chimwamurombe	Sibonile Nyamudeza
Musikavanhu	Joshua Murire	Macmillian Rimbi*

Source; PYD Information Dept

*there are still being contested internally

There was an interesting observation where the legal equality of voters was not commensurate with their freedom to choose which of the political aspirants would represent them in the forthcoming harmonised elections. Again, some candidates failed to present their views to the electorate. The voting process was characterized by abuses of the electoral process by aspiring candidates and the refusal to accept electoral verdicts. This scenario has had deleterious effects on community development in Chipinge district. These primary elections left most communities with vague feeling of anger, sadness, anxiety, concern and a sense of hopelessness, and vulnerable to the tension of conflicting needs, demands and interests of the community as we head towards the harmonised elections. PYD noted with grave concern the problems posed by the manner in which the primary elections of the two political parties were conducted. The further consequence is that social cohesion is destroyed as individuals and groups are polarised along party lines. The violence, bribery and corruption that bedevilled the primary elections will bring setback to community development. A good and effective leadership is a sure means of influencing group activities towards community development.

In this essence, PYD extols all the 103 political parties that will be contesting in the forthcoming harmonised elections to prioritise community cohesion as well as advocating for a process of inclusiveness. Political parties through their representatives are encouraged to promote effective participation of both women and men in ways that will result in tangible, measurable and positive changes within Chipinge district. Thus, to inculcate a culture of enhancing the ability of the people to use existing opportunities to participate and to have additional such opportunities created. PYD views community development activities as having the potential to effect changes that will combat poverty and social exclusion and address power imbalances in policy making. In other words, at its best, community development is seen as a powerful force for social and political change.