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President Emmerson Mnangagwa

Nyaradzo Bakari, Chronicle Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Congress of Students’ Unions (Zicosu) is set to mobilise students to vote for President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the forthcoming elections through a campaign dubbed #StudentsvoteED2018 to be launched at a conference that starts tomorrow.

Zicosu said its dominance at tertiary institutions is a sign that the ruling party which it is backing will win when the country goes for polls.

The union’s members have continued winning at elections held at institutions of higher learning, with its candidate, Angeline Dube winning the presidency at Bulawayo Polytechnic on Wednesday.

Zicosu president Takudzwa Gambiza said the #StudentsvoteED2018 campaign will be launched during a students conference that will run from tomorrow to Tuesday at the University of Zimbabwe.

He said they want President Mnangagwa to win because he has been implementing sound policies that give hope to graduates.

“We are a Zanu-PF affiliated students’ union and students have an appreciation of the ruling party’s ideology. When they vote for our candidates it shows that they are also voting in support of Zanu-PF. It is most definite that they will do the same in the upcoming elections that is why we have come up with the #StudentsvoteED2018 campaign,” said Gambiza.

“I am glad that we now have a female student as president. This will enable us to have an amplified voice when it comes to matters that affect female students. As of now we are pushing for provisions of sanitary pads for free. She will be the best person to move the goal as she understands her fellow students.”

The union’s secretary-general Godknows Mudhari said opposition parties have no chance of winning in the coming elections.

“We expect Zanu PF to win because this is a message that has been sent by students to the Government. The opposition is going to face an uphill task in the coming elections as students have signalled where their votes will go,” said Mudhari.

“We had to field a female and she made it. History was made on Wednesday as it was the first time to have a female candidate represent us and win. We wanted to show leadership skills that women possess and can bring in as far as politics is concerned.”

Dube said her victory will enhance women empowerment at colleges.

“I am very happy to have been elected as president. The students didn’t vote for me based on gender but based on what I can do as a woman. Well I can say to other female students, the sky is the limit. This will enable us as women to be empowered without any boundaries,” she said.

Recently, the Zanu-PF youth League launched the #EDhasMyVote campaign to drum up support for the President. — @NyarieBakie