All in place for Gutu West by-election: ZEC

Wallace Ruzvidzo Herald Reporter

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has put all systems and materials in place to ensure a seamless by-election in Gutu West constituency today.

The by-election will be held to elect the National Assembly representative for the constituency after elections to choose the legislator were postponed following the death of one of the candidates, Mr Christopher Mutonho, just before the August general polls.

The ruling Zanu PF will be represented by the party’s Deputy Secretary for Youth Affairs Cde John Paradza, who was first elected as the constituency’s National Assembly member in 2018. Mr Ephraim Morudu will represent CCC, Mr Robson Kurwa NCA and Mr Sebastian Mudzingwa is competing as an independent candidate.

ZEC’s vice chairperson Ambassador Rodney Kiwa told The Herald yesterday that “everything is in place”. ZEC was taking the by-election seriously, with ZEC chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba already in Gutu West to ensure seamless polls today.

“From the reports I have received, everything is in place. The chairperson is actually there as we speak. That is how serious we are taking it.

“We never plan for hiccups but of course things might happen, but we have planned for everything. Our job is to manage perceptions so we do not want to create any perception that we are not prepared, organised and that our things are not in order, so we are very alive to making sure everything is smooth,” he said.

Once the MP for Gutu West is elected, the focus moves to a set of nine by-elections on December 9 and Ambassador Kiwa said the material for those was also already in place.

The by-elections were necessitated by the recall of 14 CCC members of the National Assembly and nine Senators by the opposition party’s interim secretary-general Mr Sengezo Tshabangu last month.

Subsequently, President Mnangagwa proclaimed December 9 as the date for the by-elections in the nine constituency seats as he must, under the Electoral Act, once notified of the vacancies by the Speaker of the National Assembly.

The rest of the vacancies in the National Assembly and all in the Senate are for legislators elected by proportional representation and here the CCC will name the replacements.

“Everything has been deployed and the beauty of it is when we conducted the August 23/24 elections there is a small percentage that we add just in case there are spoilt materials and so forth, so we have everything even for the December 9 by-elections,” he said.