CLAIM: With effect from today (Saturday 27), it has become legally possible to proclaim dates for the sitting of the Nomination Court and the election due on any date between 21st and 26th August 2023.
SOURCE: Prof Welshman Ncube on Twitter
VERDICT: Correct
Zimbabweans have been waiting for the proclamation of the election date, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa hinting that it would be soon – here.
In a rally in Binga he was reported by the Chronicle as having said he would proclaim the election date on Sunday 28 May 2023, although he did not.
On that Saturday, Prof Ncube, a lawyer, former minister under the Government of National Unity and leader of the now disbanded Movement of Democratic Change, made a claim that ‘with effect from today (27 May 2023), it has become legally possible to proclaim dates for the sitting of the Nomination Court and the election due on any date between 21st and 26th August 2023’.
Credit: Global Press Journal
Constitutional Timelines
The Constitution of Zimbabwe in Section 158 [1a] states that elections must be held thirty (30) days before the expiry of the five (5) year period specified in Section 143.
158. Timing of elections
1. A general election must be held so that polling takes place not more than–
a. thirty days before the expiry of the five-year period specified in section 143;
b. where Parliament has passed resolutions to dissolve in terms of section 143(2), ninety days after the passing of the last such resolution; or
c. where Parliament is dissolved in terms of section 109(4) or (5) following a vote of no confidence, ninety days after the dissolution.
2. General elections to local authorities must take place concurrently with presidential and parliamentary general elections.
3. Polling in by-elections to Parliament and local authorities must take place within ninety days after the vacancies occurred unless the vacancies occur within nine months before a general election is due to be held, in which event the vacancies may remain unfilled until the general election.
Section 38 of the Electoral Act stipulates the timeliness which the President abides by during the process of proclaiming an election.
However, although this section made it possible for the election to be held anytime between 27 July and 26 August, 2023, this year’s timelines are affected by yet another constitutional exercise – the delimitation of electoral boundaries.
Section 161[2] of the Constitution of Zimbabwe sets out the ZEC Delimitation report timelines. To use new delimitation boundaries, the Delimitation Report has to be gazettted at least 6 months before an election is held.
ZEC Delimitation report of 2023 was gazetted on the 20th of February 2023, therefore according to the timelines set in the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the six (6) months for the delimited boundaries would be complete on the 20th of August 2023.
Therefore, to verify Prof Ncube’s claim, one has to look at the date of the gazetting of the Delimitation Report and count the days to 20 August 2023, thereby confining the election date to between 21 and 26 August 2023.
For an election being held on the 21st, the earliest that an can be proclaimed is 27 May – giving a period of 84 days between proclamation and election day. The latest that a 21 August election can be proclaimed would, therefore, be 8 July.
For a 26 August election, the earliest proclamation would be on 2 June and the latest on 12 July – with a margin of error of two days.
However, another consideration before the President makes the proclamation would be the Electoral Amendment Bill. The Bill is yet to be signed into law. For the amendments to be applicable in this election, the Bill would have to be signed into law before the election date is proclaimed, read previous fact checks on this here and here.
Conclusion
The claim by Prof Ncube that ‘with effect from today (Saturday, 27 May 2023), it has become legally possible to proclaim dates for the sitting of the Nomination Court and the election due on any date between 21st and 26th August 2023’ has been rated as correct. Saturday could have been the proclamation date for an election being held on 21 August, 2023.
