Zanu-PF will announce its candidates tomorrow for local council and parliamentary elections, following today's primaries.
It has emerged that about 800 possible candidates were barred from contesting the primaries, to be conducted today at 3,250 polling stations across the 10 provinces.
The exclusions have already fuelled tensions a few months ahead of the elections. Memories of the protest vote of 10 years ago dubbed Bhora Musango have been invoked. The Shona slogan was used by a group in Zanu-PF opposed to Robert Mugabe's campaign in the 2008 elections.
The elections will be the first test for President Emmerson Mnangagwa.The Sunday Times learnt this week that protest sit-ins took place at the party headquarters in Harare. This newspaper is also in possession of a petition signed by about 200 of the excluded members.
They claimed that the primary process was "not free, fair and transparent, including the appeal process".
The petition stated: "There was rampant corruption whereby some aspiring members allegedly bribed those vetting. At the provinces, conflict of interest arose as some aspiring candidates and sitting members of parliament sat in the vetting panels, contrary to directives and rules of natural justice.
"The appeal process was not fair because some members were not given an opportunity to express themselves and have been at the party headquarters for the whole week."
The petition said that the CVs of some candidates were not submitted to the national elections directorate.
It is understood that of about 300 appeals by those who were barred from the primary elections, only 10 were successful.
Tongai Mnangagwa, a nephew of the president, said he was participating in the primaries today for the Harare South constituency.
He said the confusion around his participation had come from "persons that were afraid of him".
James Makamba, a businessman who was in exile for over a decade and returned in December, will contest the Mount Darwin South seat amid confusion earlier in the week over whether he was still in the race.
"I am very much in Zimbabwe ... I am one of the 20 candidates that will be contesting," Makamba said.Zanu-PF insiders said the party's elections directorate had allowed those returning from exile preference over members of the party.
"We are shocked by the candidates that we are seeing," said a party source.
"Some have spent decades in the diaspora and are now back only to be allowed to contest ... some of whom we do not even know but got a green light to participate in the primary elections."
There is a high demand for places to represent the ruling party in the local councils and the lower house of assembly. Across the party's 10 provinces, 6,039 applicants were received for local councils, with 340 disqualified. For parliament, there have been 946 applicants, of which 296 were disqualified, according to a document seen by the Sunday Times.
Further stoking tensions in the ruling party was the dropping of several party bigwigs and the inclusion of new people, many with apparently questionable pasts.
In the Midlands province party members accused of initially having links with the ousted G40 faction (Mnangagwa's rivals) were disqualified from taking part in the primaries.
Some of the prominent party bigwigs who have been blocked from standing in the primaries are sitting members of parliament.
They include Gokwe senator Jason Machaya, former deputy minister of tourism and hospitality Annastacia Ndlovu, former deputy minister of mines and mining development Fred Moyo, and former deputy minister of industry and commerce Chiratidzo Mabuwa.
In Bulawayo, three sitting members of parliament were barred, although at provincial party level they had support.
The Zanu-PF Bulawayo provincial chairman, Callistus Ndlovu, said they had been dropped for "security reasons".
After the primary elections today, the ruling party is expected to officially unveil its election manifesto on Friday...