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Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
By-elections to fill the 28 vacant National Assembly constituency seats will be held on March 26 following the proclamation of dates by President Mnangagwa as required by the Constitution, with nomination day set as Wednesday January 26.
Normally by-elections are held soon after the seat falls vacant but proclamations of dates were postponed early last year when the first Covid-19 infections were found in Zimbabwe.
However, health authorities and the ZEC now believe they can manage the assembly of voters at polling stations.
The seats became vacant following the deaths of eight of the MPs, recall of 18 opposition MPs and one Zanu PF MP, and appointment to an ambassadorship of one MP.
MPs sitting for the special women’s seats who died, were recalled or received an appointment were simply replaced by the party that nominated them in the first place since these seats are filled by parties in proportion to their provincial vote. The same applied to Senate seats falling vacant.
The constituencies where the by-elections will be held are: Pumula, Nkulumane, Epworth, Glen Norah, Harare Central, Highfield East, Highfield West, Kuwadzana East, Kuwadzana, Mufakose, St Marys, Glen View North, Kambuzuma, Harare East, Dangamvura-Chikanga, Mutasa South, Marondera Central, Marondera East, Murewa South, Chivi South, Mwenezi East, Binga North, Tsholotsho South, Mkoba, Kwekwe, Mbizo, Mberengwa South and Gokwe Central.
Most of the MPs that were recalled were elected on the MDC-Alliance ticket and lost their seats when it was found by the courts that the MDC-A was an electoral pact of a number of parties that retained their identity, not a political party itself, and that the parties making up the alliance retained their right to recall MPs.
The MDC-T made the most use of this right, after the Supreme Court found that under party rules Mr Nelson Chamisa had not assumed the leadership, and so the leadership that then took over exercised this recall option on MPs who declined to recognise the court ruling.
Other opposition parties also, for other reasons, used that right, so there was a major shake out of opposition members.
These are Sichelesile Mahlangu (Pumula), Kucaca Phulu (Nkulumane), Earthrage Kureva (Epworth), Wellington Chikombo (Glen Norah), Murisi Zwizwai (Harare Central), Erick Murai (Highfield East), Happymore Chidziva (Highfield West), Chalton Hwende (Kuwadzana East), Susan Matsunga (Mufakose), Unganai Tarusenga (St Marys), Willias Madzimure (Kambuzuma), Tendai Biti (Harare East), Chapfika Mutseyami (Dangamvura-Chikanga), Regai Tsunga (Mutasa South), Caston Matewu (Marondera Central), Prince Dubeko Sibanda (Binga North), Amos Chibaya (Mkoba) and Settlement Chikwinya (Mbizo).
Zanu PF recalled former Chivi South MP Killer Zivhu while Gokwe Central legislator, another Zanu PF MP, Cde Victor Matemadanda was appointed ambassador to Mozambique.
Those who died are Miriam Mushayi (Kuwadzana), Kennedy Dinar (Glen View North), Patrick Chidakwa (Marondera East), Joel Biggie Matiza (Murewa South), Joosbi Omar (Mwenezi East), Zenzo Sibanda (Tsholotsho South), Masango Matambanadzo (Kwekwe) and Alum Mpofu (Mberengwa South).
The President set the nomination and polling days in Proclamation 1 of 2022, contained in Statutory Instrument 2 of 2022.
All nomination courts sit at 10am on January 26.
For constituencies in Bulawayo and the two Matabeleland provinces the nomination court will sit at the Magistrates Court, Court 5, Tredgold Building while for constituencies in Harare the nomination court will sit at the Magistrates Court, Abdel Gamal Nasser Road (Rotten Row).
The Manicaland nomination court sits at the Magistrates Court, Main Street, Mutare, that for Mashonaland East at the Magistrates Court, Ruzawi Road, Marondera, for Masvingo at Magistrates Court, corner Robert Mugabe Street and Jason Moyo Avenue in Masvingo and for Midlands the court will seat at the Magistrates Court, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangangwa Street (Main Street), Gweru.
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