CCC Double Candidacy Saga: Hlabano Refuses To Step Aside
One of the two Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) aspiring candidates for Bulawayo’s ward 26, Norman Hlabano, has refused to step aside to allow Mpumelelo Moyo to be the party’s sole candidate in the 26 March by-elections.
Hlabano and Moyo both successfully filed their papers at the Nomination Court in February but some party officials have endorsed the latter as the sole candidate.
Hlabano was the councillor before he was recalled by the MDC-T together with seven other Bulawayo councillors in September 2020.
On Saturday, during the CCC rally at White City Stadium in Bulawayo, Hlabano was blocked from addressing party supporters when CCC leader Nelson Chamisa took the opportunity to officially unveil all party candidates.
Chamisa apologised for the double candidacy mistake and promised that it would not happen again.
However, speaking to CITE, Hlabano vowed not to step aside arguing that he has to finish his term. He said:
There is no stepping aside. How can I step aside before I complete my term?
The decision comes from the people and not certain individuals.
CCC had similar incidents of double candidacy in Ward 9 in Bulawayo and Ward 4 in Masvingo.
One of the candidates in Ward 9 stepped aside but the situation is still to be resolved in Masvingo and in Ward 26 in Bulawayo.
Observers say fielding double candidates could affect CCC’s prospects of winning the two council seats.
