Ruling party wins crucial by-election

The ruling ZANU-PF has reclaimed the Zengeza constituency in Chitungwiza, 35 km southeast of Zimbabwe's capital Harare, in a weekend by-election marred by violence that left one person dead and several wounded. ZANU-PF won 8,442 votes while the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) scooped 6,704. The result is significant as the ruling party was defeated in all major urban settlements in the 2000 parliamentary poll. However, MDC spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi said violence and intimidation affected the outcome of the ballot. "The results of the Zengeza by-election do not surprise us in view of the gross intimidation, violence and the callous murder of our member," he said. An MDC statement said the deceased was Francis Chinozvinya, "an MDC youth who was shot in the chest [on Sunday morning] at the home of the MDC candidate, James Makore, in Zengeza", when a mob allegedly raided Makore's home. According to the party, another MDC youth, Arthur Gunzvenzve, was shot in the leg, while 10 others were also injured in the fracas. The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), an NGO which had observers on the ground during the by-election, said it had received confirmation from a local hospital that one person was fatally shot and two others were injured. In another incident, the MDC candidate "fired three warning shots into the air to disperse a rowdy mob of suspected ZANU-PF supporters who were descending on him" at a polling station, ZESN reported. Police declined to comment on the shooting, referring all questions to the Electoral Supervisory Commission's spokesman, Thomas Bvuma. "What we have been able to establish is that there were clashes near a polling station and there are allegations that somebody died after being shot," Bvuma told IRIN. The Zengeza parliamentary seat became vacant last year when the incumbent, MDC legislator Tafadzwa Musekiwa, fled the country for the United Kingdom saying he feared for his life. During the 2000 parliamentary elections, the MDC won 14,814 votes in Zengeza - while ZANU-PF scored just 5,330 votes. As a result of its observations during the weekend by-election, ZESN proposed a number of measures, including the establishment of an independent electoral commission. It noted that intimidation and campaigning was evident at polling stations. "The 100-metre radius curtailing political activity is not adequate, as supporters were openly campaigning and intimidating rivals in front of police officers," ZESN said.