Opinion
The gods of Chegutu West seem to be against the idea of Gift Konjana becoming a legislator in the Parliament of Zimbabwe.
Konjana’s dream of becoming a legislator was shuttered in 2018 where despite winning the Chegutu West parliamentary seat with 10 949 votes, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) decided to award it to Dexter Nduna of Zanu PF who got 10 932 votes.
Efforts to reclaim his victory through the court system proved difficult as his various challenges were all thrown away, leaving Dexter Nduna to serve the 5 year term in the 9th Parliament of Zimbabwe.
The 2023 general elections that were held on the 23rd of August, provided Konjana with another chance to enter Parliament on the ticket of Chegutu West.
Unlike in 2018 where he was a candidate under MDC Alliance which was being led by Nelson Chamisa, Konjana decided to stand as an independent candidate following his suspension from the party by Douglas Mwonzora.
It was alleged that Konjana and other party members such as Elias Mudzuri and Norest Marara were plotting against Mwonzora.
Konjana however got a rude awakening when election results were announced as he got a measly 872, losing to Admore Chivero of Citizens Coalition for Change who polled 13 042 and also Farai Chigazira of Zanu PF who was second with 11 308 votes.
The result means Konjana will have to wait another 5 years to try his luck again to become a legislator.
2023 general elections were basically a two-horse race between Zanu PF led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Citizens Coalition for Change led by Nelson Chamisa.
Zanu PF got the lion’s share of seats (136) which is 64.76%, while Citizens Coalition for Change got the remainder (73) representing 34.76%.
There is one seat that remains vacant following the death of an independent candidate in Masvingo Province.
The difference for Konjana between his 2018 result (10 949) and the 2023 result (872) could be the Nelson Chamisa factor.
In 2018 he was under Chamisa and he won, in 2023 he was independent and lost, but a candidate from Chamisa’s party won the seat.
Zimbabwe have generally preferred to vote for candidates that come from political parties especially Zanu PF and Citizens Coalition fo Change.
Norton and Kwekwe Central were exceptional in 2018 as they voted for independent candidates namely Temba Mliswa and the late Masango Matambanadzo respectively.
Unless he joins Zanu PF or Citizens Coalition for Change, Gift Konjana may never become a legislator especially for Chegutu West which is slowly proving to becoming an opposition seat due to the voting patterns since 2018.
