A fourth presidential candidate last week filed his nomination papers to contest next month’s elections. The Zimbabwe Election Commission presiding officer Ignatius Mushangwe confirmed that Mr. Langton Toungana had successfully lodged his papers.

No one seem to know who Toungana is or which party he represents. So far he has not held a press conference or presented his election manifesto. But some analysts believe his entry into mainstream politics is a CIO plot, aimed at trying to dilute the opposition vote.

Simon Muchemwa, our Harare correspondent, said Toungana’s registration to stand as an independent could have been a last minute scheme by the CIO to try and confuse the electorate, after Makoni entered the presidential race.

‘These are last-minute plots that never work. We have had independents who have registered to stand against Mugabe in the past, but as soon as elections are over, it appears most of these candidates evaporate never to be seen again,’ Muchemwa said.

Three others were duly nominated on the same day - Robert Mugabe, the Zanu-PF leader, Simba Makoni, Independent candidate, and Morgan Tsvangirai the MDC president.

Nomination papers for William Gwata of the little-known Christian Democratic party were rejected for failing to satisfy the criteria, while former ZANU-PF official Daniel Shumba was barred from submitting his papers after turning up at the close of nominations. But a breakaway faction from the MDC led by Arthur Mutambara did not put up a candidate and decided to support Makoni. Mutambara has opted to contest the Zengeza West seat in Chitungwiza.

But Makoni insisted after filing his papers: ‘I am not in an alliance with anyone. I am an independent candidate and I am standing alone.’

Meanwhile the MDC’s policy co-ordinator Eddie Cross finally managed to register as a parliamentary candidate for Bulawayo South, after the presiding officer in Bulawayo had initially declared him as an alien, a non-citizen.Cross told us he was born in Bulawayo, grew up in the country all his life and has never held any other citizenship and travelled most of my life on a Zimbabwe passport.

‘I took the issue to the High Court and won an order from the Judge who told the Nomination Court to treat me as a citizen and to act accordingly. Eventually at 9.30pm I was declared a candidate for the Bulawayo South constituency,’ Cross said.

He refuted claims in the state media that he had been barred from standing as a candidate because he had been ‘declared insolvent’ in 1994. SW Radio Africa

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