Political Reporter
Misheck Manyere, a Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) candidate for the Marondera Central parliamentary seat, has announced that he would not withdraw his candidature despite the party endorsing Caston Matewu as the official candidate.
A source who spoke to this publication said that Manyere, who is also the sitting Marondera Ward 5 councillor, successfully filed his nomination papers under the CCC, even though the party leadership supported Matewu.
The source said that the CCC leadership reached out to Manyere, telling him to withdraw his candidature, but he refused, saying that he was more popular than Matewu.
"Mukuru (Nelson Chamisa) sent a message to Manyere telling him to withdraw his candidature and pave way for Matewu. However, Manyere refused to withdraw, arguing that he was more popular than Matewu. Instead of withdrawing his candidature, Manyere has been actively mobilising resources for his campaign and remains committed to running as a candidate,” said the source.
The source said that it was not only Manyere who had refused to withdraw, but several other candidates were also refusing to step down.
"It's not only Manyere who has refused to withdraw his candidature, but several other candidates, including Freddy Masarirevu, are also refusing to step down. These people used a lot of resources during the candidate nomination process; that’s why they are refusing to step down,” said the source.
The same source added that the double candidature was likely to negatively affect the CCC’s chances of having a majority in the next parliament.
"CCC is shooting itself in the foot. I don’t see it having the majority in the next parliament, as this issue of double candidates will surely backfire on them. ZANU PF will surely defeat this divided party,” said the source.
Meanwhile, the CCC has denounced 41 candidates who registered to participate in the elections under the party's name without proper authorization.
That party has taken legal action, filing criminal charges and appealing to the Electoral Court. Among the unauthorised candidates are 20 who filed for National Assembly seats and 21 who filed for local authority positions.
