mbulelo smpofu
Fungai Muderere, fungai.muderere@bmetro.co.zw
HIGHLANDERS returning officer Peter Dube has revealed that three candidates have successfully been nominated to run for the positions of vice chairman and treasurer.
The elections will be held on February 2.
One candidate, Fiso Siziba, will go unopposed for the position of vice chairman while two candidates Israel Moyo and Nkani Khoza will fight for the position of treasurer.
“We have two vacant positions, one for vice chairman and one for the treasurer. The Electoral College sat this morning (yesterday). Candidates that were willing to participate in these elections submitted their nomination forms by last Saturday. The cut off time was 12pm. So, all the three met the constitutional requirements.
“One candidate, Fiso Siziba was successfully nominated for the position of vice chairman while Nkani Khoza and Israel Moyo were nominated for the treasurer’s position. The candidates have been called and notified of their successful nomination, so they can now go forward and campaign. This coming weekend (Sunday), they will be introduced to the club’s membership,” said Dube.
Siziba had already publicly declared his interest for another term as vice-chairman while Moyo had opted to keep his cards close to the chest.
“I feel humbled about the trust that has been shown to me by Highlanders members. I am happy that I have been nominated unopposed but that does not make me a special person. I will keep learning and pursue the Highlanders mandate. Naturally, elections are divisive in that regard, I pray for peace and unity in the club. I’m looking forward to going back to work for the club ahead of what looks like it will be a difficult season,” said Siziba.
Contacted for a comment, Khoza could not open up saying he was busy with his home errands and was going to get back to this reporter.
Khoza despite being a candidate, nominated Moyo for the position of treasurer.
“I’m sorry, I can’t comment for now. I’m busy attending to my dog at home. I’m with a doctor, we will talk later because my dog can actually die,” said Khoza. Candidates ought to have been Highlanders members for an uninterrupted period of 24 months, had to get their nomination forms signed by a minimum of 10 Bosso members in good standing and were required to pay a nomination fee of US$200 to qualify as contestants in the elections.
The nomination fee is refundable if a candidate receives at least 10 percent of the total votes cast for the position they are contesting.
After the closing of the nomination process, what follows is the verification process that took place yesterday that saw the three candidates go through the vetting procedure after fulfilling the constitutional demands to stand for elections.
According to the Bosso constitution, the nomination and electoral review committee sits as a court on a set date but soon after the closure of nominations to verify and consider nominations, candidates or their agents may be present at the verification and may be allowed to make representations in support of their nominations at the end of which the Nomination and Electoral Review Committee shall publish the list of successful candidates for any contested position.
This election is part of the club’s tradition of holding staggered elections for continuity.
Last year, elections were held for three positions, namely, the executive chairman, secretary and for the committee member and this year, the focus is on the remaining two. — @FungaiMuderere.
Siphakeme .Mnindwa
