Zimbabwe is due to hold by elections on February 3 2024. These will be for 6 National Assembly seats and 28 local authority wards.
On 14 November Sengezo Tshabangu recalled 13 National Assembly Members, 5 senators and 31 councillors belonging to the Citizens Coalition of Change. Of the 13 National Assembly seats, 6 are constituency seats while the other seven are proportional representation for women and youth’s quota.
The National Assembly seats are for: Pelandaba-Tshabalala
Mkoba North
Seke
Goromonzi West
Chegutu West
Zvimba East
Q: Why are there only 6 by elections for Parliamentary seats when 18 members were recalled?
A: Zimbabwe holds a 4 in 1 election system. When a National Assembly member is being voted for, that same vote goes towards the senate, youth and women’s quota election. When members are recalled like in this case, the quota and senate members are replaced through nominees from the party.
Q: 31 local authority councillors were recalled, why are by elections only being held in 28?
A: Two recalls were reversed by the party while in the third case, the incumbent won a court case to stop their recall.
Q: Does the public have any say in the process of choosing replacements for the non directly elected members?
A: Yes. Section 39 of the Electoral Act states that the Chief Elections Officer has received the nomination papers of the nominees the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has to notify the public of the nomination to fill the vacancy by notice in the Gazette; and afford any person who is a voter to lodge any written objection (together with reasons for the objection) to the nomination within a specified time from the date of publication of the notice in the Gazette.
Q: If a voter was not eligible to vote in the last election, does this mean they can not vote in the February 3 by election?
A: No, a voter who could not vote in the last election can vote in this by election depending on when they registered to vote. The Electoral Act states in Section 26A (Closure of voters roll before nomination day) that no person shall be registered as a voter for the purposes of voting at any Presidential election or election of members of the Parliament or councillors unless he or she lodges a claim for registration or transfer of registration under section 24 or 25 no later than the second day following the publication of proclamation. The 2023 elections were proclaimed on 31 May 2023. Voters who registered after 2 June 2023 did not vote in those elections. However, those who are in the affected constituencies and registered to vote between 3 June and 3 December 2023, which was two days after the proclamation, are eligible to vote in this by election.
Q: What other processes need to happen between now and the by election?
A: Zimbabwe Electoral Commission will need to train voter education officers, carry out mobile voter education and also train electoral officers.
Conclusion
If you are in any of the 6 affected constituencies and 28 local authority wards affected by the recalls, and registered to vote before 3 December 2023, you are eligible to vote in the February 3 2024 by election. If you are an Econet or NetOne subscriber, you can verify your voter registration details by dialling *265#. ZEC is also mandated to display the voters’ rolls at every polling station two days before polling day to enable voters to confirm their correct polling stations.
