Preparations for general elections expected sometime this year geared up Tuesday as officials with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in Mashonaland Central Province gathered to vet members seeking to contest in the party’s primary elections.
Provincial chairman Godfrey Chimombe said their executive was looking at, among other things, the period one has been “an unwavering” member of the party and whether all are paid-up members.
Chimombe said though the process was smooth, some applicants were disqualified for various reasons.
MDC-T national organizing secretary Nelson Chamisa said members wishing to replace sitting lawmakers will have to wait for the confirmation process that requires a current legislator to win two-thirds support from ordinary party members or face primary polls.
Meanwhile, Zimbabweans living with disabilities have dismissed the country’s new draft constitution saying there is nothing in it to improve their lot.
Henry Chivhanga, director of the Disability Amalgamation Community Trust of Zimbabwe told thousands of disabled people at Mucheke Hall in Masvingo on Monday that the draft charter is the worst document he has ever seen.
Mr. Chivhanga said it does nothing to enhance the lives and status of the disabled in the country.
Chivhanga said while there were positives in the document such as affirmative action targetting women, there is nothing in the document that spells out the plight and aspirations of disabled people in the country.
Chivhanga said the disabled in Zimbabwe would also have wanted a quota system so they can access positions of authority in both houses of parliament as is the case with women.
The organization’s vice president, Simon Mapengo, said the constitutional select committee should have taken deliberate steps to address the needs of the disabled in the draft.
Mapengo said disabled people should get free education and medication, among other essential services which they cannot afford.
