Omega Sibanda Pledges To Support Rival In Harmonised Elections
Omega Sibanda, the Vungu constituency legislator, has pledged to support his former rival and successor, Brown Ndlovu, in the upcoming harmonised elections.
Sibanda is stepping down to pave the way for Ndlovu, who won in a heated contest during the recent ZANU PF primary voting exercise.
His remarks come amid claims of sour relations between the two senior party members, which began in 2020 when Sibanda narrowly lost the Gweru District Coordinating Committee chairman position to Ndlovu.
Ndlovu previously lost his Chiundura seat to the MDC in the 2018 harmonised election and will now run in the Vungu constituency after this year’s delimitation exercise.
Sibanda described Ndlovu as a qualified and mature politician who understands the party’s ethos of driving development for the people. He is quoted by the Chronicle as saying:
I cannot comment much, but we are happy as a party, Ndlovu knows the tactics of winning. He is a very experienced politician who knows what should be done.
I am going to support all the developmental initiatives for our constituency. The primary election came and went and now the focus is on campaigning for President Mnangagwa and the party as a whole.
Ndlovu stated that the Zanu-PF primary election was a democratic exercise to select the best candidate to represent the party against opposition in the upcoming elections, rather than a personal fight within the party. He emphasized that Zanu-PF operates with democracy and holds primary elections every five years for people to choose their preferred candidates. He said:
So today, we are meeting our Chiefs and the people to inform them about the successful candidates they chose to represent them during the primary elections.
We want President Mnangagwa to win resoundingly and we are happy because all the people in this constituency are saying they know no other party except Zanu PF.
Ndlovu expressed confidence in Zanu-PF’s victory in the upcoming general election, citing the high turnout during the primary elections as an indication of overwhelming support. He pledged to work with former rival and current MP Sibanda to continue ongoing projects aimed at improving the lives of the constituency’s residents. Ndlovu also stressed the need to complete pending projects for the benefit of the community.
