Staff ReporterAndrew Langa, a Member of Parliament and former Cabinet Minister in Zimbabwe, has withdrawn his candidature from the ZANU PF primary elections rerun scheduled for later this month. The primary elections will determine the ruling party’s candidate for the upcoming general election.
Langa announced his decision in a statement, citing consultations with President Emmerson Mnangagwa and traditional leaders in the Insiza North constituency. According to Langa, his withdrawal was made in the interest of maintaining party stability and balancing traditional leadership views.
The decision comes after Langa won the first round of elections by more than 600 votes, but the results were nullified following allegations of unfairness by his competitor, Spare Sithole.
President Mnangagwa recently attended the installation of Chief Maduna in the constituency, leading some analysts to speculate that the traditional leadership may have vouched for Sithole. However, the exact details of the consultations between Langa and the President and traditional leaders have not been disclosed.
The withdrawal of Langa from the ZANU PF primary elections has thrown the race into uncertainty, and it remains to be seen how the situation will be resolved. The primary elections in Zimbabwe have been marred by allegations of violence, intimidation, and vote rigging in the past, leading to widespread concern about the fairness of the process.
Observers will be watching closely to see how the ZANU PF leadership handles this latest development and whether it will impact the outcome of the primary elections in the Insiza North constituency.
