Ray Nkosi | In a clear “dog eat dog” desperate fight for votes in the Bikita West by election scheduled for tomorrow, the ruling ZANU PF party yesterday went all out to ensure that people in the constituency did not attend the opposition Zimbabwe People First rally addressed by its leader Joice Mujuru at Nyika growth point.

In a decisive move to block people from attending the opposition rally, the ruling party is reported to have ordered all chiefs and headman in the villages to gather all their people at village centres to receive free grain and fertiliser exactly at the same time that the rally was taking place.

The party is said to have ordered the headmen to submit names of any of their people who will not have turned up for the gatherings. A headman who spoke to ZimEye.com in confidentiality at Nyika growth point yesterday said that “scores of strange people driving in big cars” had been deployed into the villages to ensure adherence to the ruling party order.

The headman said that they were living in fear as traditional leaders in the area after ZANU PF senior officials including party National Commissar Saviour Kasukuwere threatened the traditional leaders with unspecified action if ZANU PF loses the by-election.

According to the headman, thousands of people who wanted to attend the rally stayed behind in their villages to register their names in the ZANU PF roll in fear of being sanctioned by the party after the elections.

Addressing the brave few people who turned up at her rally, Mujuru blasted ZANU PF for using food and inputs handouts to buy votes from the people. Mujuru told the gathering that people should never fear that if they vote ZANU PF out the food handouts will stop. “These handouts are not from ZANU PF at all, they are from well wishers through government and these will always be there even beyond ZANU PF, don’t agree sale your votes to them through food handouts already earmarked for you,” she said.

Mujuru told the two thousand supporters who braved the ZANU PF intimidation tactics and the cold weather to go out and accept the food handouts but go on and vote for her party in the by election. A quick survey by ZimEye.com in the area indicated that ZANU PF has deployed hundreds of members of the youth league from throughout the country into the constituency to do door to door intimidating campaigns for the party. The youth who appear well funded and coordinated are moving around the constituency in ZANU PF marked Ford Ranger vehicles drinking a lot of alcohol are said to be warning villagers of a repeat of the 2008 election violence if they dare vote against the party in the by election.