ZANU PF has annulled Moses Langa’s victory in the party’s primary elections for Insiza North due to reported irregularities and has ordered a rerun of the vote.
Langa won the May 3 election, defeating Delani Moyo and Qhubani Moyo, who came second and third, respectively.
However, both Moyo and Moyo immediately raised concerns, alleging ballot stuffing and delays in the delivery of election materials to some wards. As a result, a new vote has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 13.
ZANU PF’s political commissar, Munyaradzi Machacha, was sent to the constituency to gather further details.
Machacha met with the candidates and district officials on Sunday and suggested that Langa should be allowed to represent the party, given the short time before the nomination court sits on May 15.
According to ZimLive, a source familiar with the discussions said that Machacha briefed senior party leaders overnight on Sunday but was ultimately overruled. The source added:
A decision was taken at the level of the presidency that the election should be rerun due to the irregularities cited.
The party leaders decided that failing to conduct a new election would be bad for party unity in the constituency concerned.
In the May 3 vote, Moses Langa, the son of former sports minister Andrew Langa, was declared the winner with 2,478 votes.
Delani Moyo, a miner, received 1,564 votes, while Qhubani Moyo, a former commissioner with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, secured 983 votes in a field of seven candidates.
The Insiza North by-election is set for June 24, the same day as another by-election in Gutu East, triggered by the expulsion of sitting MP Benjamin Ganyiwa from ZANU PF.
ZANU PF is expected to retain both constituencies easily, given the decline of the CCC, the only opposition party to have won National Assembly seats in the 2023 general elections.
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