The Sunday Mail
Newly-elected National Assembly members who won in last Wednesday’s by-elections will be sworn in this week, with Zanu-PF national political commissar Cde Saviour Kasukuwere saying this victory strengthens the party’s resolve to win more urban seats come 2018.
Zanu-PF won all 16 contested seats.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission will tomorrow hold a procedural meeting to compile a list of these winning candidates for submission to Parliament.
Zec deputy chair Mrs Joyce Kazembe told The Sunday Mail: “We are meeting all the relevant provincial elections officers on Monday (tomorrow) to finalise issues such as tallying figures. After that meeting, we will forward the names of the winning candidates to Parliament.
“I can assure you that the names will be with Parliament early this week.”
Clerk of Parliament Mr Kennedy Chokuda added: “We are ready to receive the elected members for swearing-in once we receive the list from Zec. If we receive the list on Monday (tomorrow), I can assure you they will be sworn in by Tuesday.
“It also depends on the availability of the members themselves. Some of them come from far away constituencies”
Section 67 of the Electoral Act mandates the Chief Elections Officer to immediately submit the list of MPs-elect to the Clerk of Parliament once winners are determined and swearing-in will follow.
Cde Kasukuwere told The Sunday Mail yesterday: “Our victory in all the 16 constituencies clearly indicates the people have seen MDC-T’s greed. They felt betrayed and have seen that Zanu-PF is a party with people at heart.
“We are now going to the grassroots level of the party to organise ourselves as a formidable force and rejuvenate all our structures in urban areas and reclaim them. We are working in full force as the commissariat to reclaim all urban seats and our first mission is to reclaim our seats that were taken by MDC-T in areas such as Harare and Bulawayo.”
He added: “The party is dealing with factionalism in all its structures and this clearly shows we want to reclaim all seats held by the opposition. The measures we are putting in place will see the party emerge stronger come 2018.
“It is not a dream; it is just a matter of time. The people have seen our programmes and the rate of delivery. Look at the developmental projects our candidates have embarked on. We are a party of and for the people.”
• Statistical analysis on Page 10
