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Harare Bureau
LOSING Hurungwe West by-election independent candidate Temba Mliswa yesterday said he will never stand in any future parliamentary election and will now pursue other interests.

His comments came after he lost the June 10 by-election to Zanu-PF’s Cde Keith Guzah who scored 5,961 votes, while he received 4,239.

Mliswa said at a press conference in Harare that although he wanted to challenge the election results in court, he was no longer interested in electoral contests.

He accused Zanu-PF of having intimidated voters in the constituency which he previously held before he was expelled from the party, but failed to produce evidence to back up his claim.

“I’ll take this (defeat) as an opportunity to explore the many options that lie ahead as an active citizen in different spheres for a better Zimbabwe,” said Mliswa. “I’ve decided not to ever stand for election as a Member of Parliament and will pursue other interests.”

Mliswa called for what he termed a grand coalition that will “put people first”, in apparent reference to a slogan being used by a cabal ousted from Zanu-PF for supporting former Vice-President Joice Mujuru’s plans to unconstitutionally remove President Robert Mugabe.

The “People First” project failed to make it in the 16 by-elections held countrywide last week in which some candidates openly declared that they were sponsored by the Mujuru cabal.

Said Mliswa: “The aspect of forming a new party is not what I believe in. I’ve talked about a grand coalition in 2018 which should start now by investing time with the people and educating the young people.”

Mliswa, a former Zanu-PF provincial chairperson for Mashonaland West, was expelled from Zanu-PF together with several other senior officials for backing the Mujuru project aimed at illegally re-organising the party’s leadership.