Story by Bruce Chahwanda
THE move which saw 12 Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) aspiring National Assembly candidates being disqualified from contesting the August 23 general election by the High Court has exposed the poor administrative structures in the opposition outfit with political analysts saying it was inevitable.
The Bulawayo High Court disqualified the 12 CCC candidates from participating in the August 23 general elections after it emerged that they submitted their nomination papers after the nomination court deadline.
This has triggered debate among opposition political party sympathisers with some blaming the CCC leadership for its failure to put in place functional structures, while some blamed it on the opposition outfit leader Nelson Chamisa’s self-defeating strategic ambiguity concept.
Political Activist, Ms Abigirl Mupambi said the opposition has no one to blame except themselves for centralising election administration processes.
“This is the biggest example of confusion, if you look deeper, you will see some are now saying we could not catch up with time as they were looking for a signature as if the announcement was made the same morning. This issue of not having clear checks and balances and having a clear institution that points to who should do what, you will always be guessing maybe John is the signatory, maybe Peter is the signatory until time lapses, and these are the results,” she said.
Another Political Analyst, Mr Gibson Nyikadzino described the latest development as a consequence of a dysfunctional opposition outfit whose democratic and governance foundation leaves a lot to be desired.
“This is a problem of a deliberate attempt to centralise the administrative power on an individual, the effects of a lack of good bureaucratic organisation. So, in the end, they have got no one to blame,” said Nyikadzino.
The court verdict will see some candidates being duly nominated although the CCC has filed an appeal against the High Court ruling.
