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Zanu-PF national political commissar Lieutenant- General Engelbert Rugeje (Retired) addresses party members at a Matabeleland South inter-district meeting in Gwanda recently

Nduduzo Tshuma, Political Editor

AS party members roll out their campaigns ahead of the Zanu-PF primary elections at the weekend, it is important for them and their supporters to conduct themselves in a way that unites the party ahead of the national elections.

The interests of the party must come first as the cadres contest for the right to represent various constituencies in the National Assembly, Senate and local authorities. This has already been expressed by provincial chairpersons who this week said the internal polls should be centred on promoting Zanu-PF under the stewardship of President Mnangagwa as the party of choice ahead of the individual candidates.

In previous times, primary elections have been very divisive within Zanu-PF with the imposition of candidates and unfair disqualification of candidates from provincial level before consideration at the national level.

However, this time around, and in the interests of transparency in line with the spirit of the new dispensation, provinces were directed to forward all applications for vetting at the party headquarters.This eliminated fights emanating from petty squabbles within provincial structures that would on a broader scale affect the party.It can be said therefore that the process of vetting and selecting candidates for Sunday’s primary elections is the most democratic in years and this is confirmed by overwhelming numbers vying to represent constituencies on behalf of Zanu-PF.

In some provinces, there was an unwritten rule that senior party cadres were not contested in primary elections and automatically qualified to represent the seats they were interested in and that too has changed.  Others qualified merely by being aligned or related to certain senior members who used their muscle to block or frustrate other candidates in pursuit of building fiefdoms within provinces and that too has been done away with in the new dispensation under President Mnangagwa.

This development has seen many young contestants, recently shielded away, vying for seats in an open contest with an equally open chance of winning in the primaries. It is against this background that party cadres must conduct themselves in the spirit of the new dispensation and along the call of President Mnangagwa for peace, love and unity.

Credit must also be given to the party for introducing strategies that enforce unity during the holding of primary elections.

Addressing party members in Bulawayo this month, the Zanu-PF national political commissar Lieutenant General Engelbert Rugeje (Retired) said losing candidates in the primary elections will automatically assume the role of campaign managers for the winning candidates ahead of the forthcoming harmonised elections.

“Losing candidates should be campaign managers for the winning candidate. That’s the new position. Those that will come out second best during primary elections should help the winners in their campaign. We don’t want to hear that losing candidates are campaigning against those that would have been elected to ensure the party wins resoundingly.

“We should be united and work together for the good of the party,” he said.

Party members, he said, should desist from uttering slogans that denigrate other party members but should adopt slogans that promote unity and development. He said no party member was allowed to chant the “pasi na/ phansi lo” slogan to fellow party member or members of opposition parties. Lt-Gen Rugeje said instead of denigrating opposition members, Zanu-PF members should show them love and woo them to join the ruling party.

“Let’s not waste time chanting denigrating slogans. We want unifying slogans, slogans that encourage development. This whole pasi na/phansi lo, when you have differences with another party member is not allowed. We should not say pasi nemhandu to another person even if they are from the opposition.

Let’s show them love. Everyone in Zimbabwe is a potential Zanu-PF supporter and our work as the Commissariat is to bring those people to the party,” he said.

Added Lt-Gen Rugeje, “The President says Zimbabwe is open for business, likewise Zanu-PF is open for everyone”.

Lt-Gen Rugeje also encouraged party members to remain peaceful ahead of primary elections and during the run-up to the harmonised elections.

He said Zanu-PF would not tolerate intra-party violence as the party was out to lead by example in the campaign against political violence.

“Violence of whatever kind should be condemned, be it intra-party or inter-party violence. Let’s desist from pouring scorn on each other ahead of these primary elections. Let’s now unite as a party and show the world that we can work together for the good of the party. It’s said charity begins at home, so let’s lead by example,” said Lt-Gen Rugeje.

Party members should also turn up in their numbers to vote in the primary elections as high numbers in the internal polls will also serve to silence Zanu-PF detractors ready to cry “rigging” when the ruling party romps to victory in the national elections. The primary elections should therefore be treated as seriously as the national elections to be held later.