Elections day declared holiday

GOVERNMENT has in terms of Section 38(2) of the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13) proclaimed August 23, 2023 as a public holiday to allow Zimbabweans to freely exercise their right to vote in the harmonised elections.

Citizens are voting tomorrow to elect the President, Members of the National Assembly and councillors who will preside over their governance issues for the next five years. There are 11 candidates contesting the position of President.

Preliminary polls have tipped President Mnangagwa of the ruling party Zanu-PF to win resoundingly riding on the massive development projects achieved under the Second Republic since its coming into power in 2017.

Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister, Kazembe Kazembe, announced the holiday declaration in a Government Gazette notice released yesterday.

“It is hereby declared that the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, in terms of Section 38(2) of the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13) has declared that the 23rd of August 2023, shall be a public holiday for the purposes of polling for the 2023 harmonised elections,” reads the notice.

Section 38 (2) of the Electoral Act provides that: “The polling day or polling days fixed in terms of subsection (1) shall be deemed to be a public holiday or public holidays, as the case may be, for the purposes of the Public Holidays and Prohibition of Business [Chapter 10:21].”

Tomorrow’s elections are the ninth since the country attained majority rule in 1980. The country has consistently and in total conformity to the Constitution provided the citizens with an opportunity to choose their leaders.

There are 12 370 polling stations countrywide. Bulawayo metropolitan province, with 29 wards and 12 constituencies, has 434 polling stations, Matabeleland North, which has 197 wards and 13 National Assembly seats has 918 polling stations while Matabeleland South, which lost one National Assembly seat following the 2022 delimitation exercise, has 709 polling stations spread across its 168 wards.

The polling stations open at 7am and close at 7pm.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has said the use of cell phones and taking of photographs inside a polling station is prohibited.

“Only accredited journalists are allowed to take photographs and videos inside the polling station. However, they cannot take a picture or film a voter while he/she is casting his/her vote,” said the electoral body.

ZEC has also announced that it will post all election results outside polling stations, ward collation centres, constituency collation centres as well as the national collation centre, contrary to fake statements circulating on social media.

“The public is being urged to desist from circulating fake news that may cause alarm and despondency as the country heads for the harmonised elections,” said ZEC.