CHAMISA BROKE HIS WORD : MAJOME

Harare West MP, Jessie Majome says she was shocked when told that she will be contested as the former MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai had said...

Harare West MP, Jessie Majome says she was shocked when told that she will be contested as the former MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai had said sitting MPs will not be challenged.

She told Newsday :"Precisely, that is what he said. He summoned the party caucus and told us that it would be a waste of energies for the party to fight over only 34 constituencies that we already hold. So we were asked to go out and shore up support in areas deemed to be Zanu PF strongholds to help the incoming candidates garner support. Even the current president (Nelson Chamisa), early in his tenure, he said the same and sent us out to campaign in other areas that are considered. So I realised now that I do not have the time. As a middle-class constituency, Harare West would need time to explain to its people that they are supposed to participate actively in party processes. Now we are just weeks before an election and it is impossible to do that."

 One of my concerns is the uncertainty around the procedures for the primary elections. It is said any member with a particular plastic card was allowed to vote. The problem arose that it’s not certain who is supposed to vote for an aspiring candidate. The party has not indicated how it will ensure that only people in a particular area will vote. We had people bussed into Harare West to shore up support in the constituency for a particular aspiring candidate. The communication has not been that good.

I fear that if people can be bussed for a constituency meeting, this is likely to recur during the primaries. Harare West has people who traditionally do not participate in party activities, but will vote in the elections proper and there has not been much communication to the people. I have, as a sitting MP, been working in Zanu PF strongholds, which time I should have invested in Harare West.