By Mash East correspondent

ZANU PF supporters in Murewa South have written a letter to President Emmerson Mnangagwa informing him that they will vote for the party’s parliamentary candidate, Joel Biggie Matiza as he fraudulently won in the primary elections held in May.

In the letter to Mnangagwa, the supporters said they would instead vote for an independent candidate, Noah Mangondo. 

Mangondo lost to Matiza in a contest that was marred by a lot of irregularities including the use of ‘corrupted police officers’ as presiding officers.

Matiza is also the Mashonaland East Zanu PF provincial chairperson.

“Voting for the primary elections took place under very unfavourable conditions imposed by corrupted presiding police officers. This led to disturbances at most polling stations resulting in people failing to vote or ballot papers being torn or burnt,” the party members wrote in their petition to Mnangagwa.

The letter was also copied to Vice Presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi, national chairperson, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri and political commissar, Engelbert Rugeje.

The petition says rigging during the primaries resulted in Mangondo losing.

“This resulted in Joel Biggie Matiza being declared the winner of the election although the people’s choice was clearly Noah Mangondo. We want development in the constituency and we should have been allowed to elect a candidate of our choice. We are still Zanu PF at heart and we will vote for President Mnangagwa and Noah Mangondo as our parliamentary candidate,” part of the letter reads.

In an interview, Mangondo confirmed that he had Zanu PF supporters who were backing him as their candidate.

“Zanu PF raised me but when I was blocked from contesting in the primary elections, I had no choice but to heed the people’s calls for me to stand as an independent.  It was the most painful decision to make as I am Zanu PF to the bone.  Together with those in Zanu PF who are rallying behind me, we will vote for President Mnangagwa on July 30,” Mangondo said.