adminZvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has unveiled guidelines to govern political parties when they nominate people to fill in vacant posts under the party list system.
The same guidelines would also be used to replace legislators or provincial council members selected through proportional representation.
The invitation follows the expiry in December 2013 of legal provisions promulgated in terms of the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act that were used to run the July 2013 harmonised elections.
Party list system is used to elect Senators and to fill in the 60 legislators in the National Assembly under the women’s quota where contesting political parties are required to submit lists of candidates to ZEC.
The new guidelines on the party list are contained in a Statutory Instrument of a Government Gazette published last Friday and were made with the approval of the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs.
The new legal provision would be used to replace vacant constituencies like Manicaland province where ZEC has since rejected Zanu-PF nominee Dr Gideon Gono as it turned out that he was not a registered voter in that constituency.
The regulations also provide rules and guidelines to be applied during general elections particularly the process to be followed during nomination for Presidential, parliamentary, local authority and provincial council elections.
Presidential candidates have to pay US$1 000 for nomination while national assembly candidates have to pay US$50.
“The fee payable by a political party in respect of party-list for the Senate, the National Assembly or Provincial Council is a sum of US$100 payable in cash for each political party list,” read the regulations.
The regulations also empower a registered voter to inspect the nomination list at the close of the nomination court.
In terms of the regulation, a political party contesting national assembly elections should submit a party list for all the provinces with six candidates per each province.
The first name on the list must be that of a female and remaining names must alternate between male and female candidates.
“The names must be listed in the order the political party wishes them to be selected if the party qualifies for election of their party list candidates, with the person at the top of the list as being the number one preference and so on,” read the regulations.
The regulations bar a party list candidate to be nominated on more than one province or political party list neither can a candidate be on the party list for both the National Assembly and Senate.
On provincial council party list candidates, a political party contesting the constituency elections for the National Assembly may submit a party list for the provincial council each province in which it is contesting.
The list must have 10 candidates per each province.
“The list must be lodged with the Provincial Elections Officer for the Province to which it relates.
“The Provincial Elections Officer will be the Nomination Officer for that Province,” read the regulations.
Online Reporter