Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube, candidate of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has been retained as mayor for Bulawayo in an election held Saturday, a local radio reported Sunday.

Ndabeni-Ncube polled 29,575 votes, beating rival Dickson Abu- Basuthu of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front who polled 5,509 votes.

The Electoral Supervisory Commission was quoted as saying that voting went well but a poor voter turnout was recorded.

Its chairperson, Theophilus Gambe, said the low turnout was due to a number of unspecified reasons.

"We will hold an audit of the election," he said.

Voters traditionally did not treat municipal elections seriously as compared to parliamentary and presidential elections, he said.

Six other local authorities across the country also held elections on Saturday.

Source: Xinhua