The Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail Reporter
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has mobilised adequate material and financial resources to conduct two House of Assembly by-elections in Mt Darwin West and Chirumanzu-Zibagwe constituencies this Friday.
The commission also said it would secure resources for more by-elections after 21 MDC-T legislators were expelled from Parliament a fortnight ago.
The Mt Darwin West and Chirumanzu-Zibagwe polls mark the first by-elections since the 2013 harmonised elections.
The Sunday Mail has established that ZEC requires an average US$1 million to hold elections in a single constituency.
ZEC chairperson Justice Rita Makarau told this paper that the electoral body had laid most of the groundwork for this week’s by-elections.
“ZEC has undertaken a number of activities in preparation for the two by-elections to be held in Chirumanzu-Zibagwe and Mt Darwin West constituencies.
“These include, among others, voter registration and inspection of the voters’ rolls, convening of nomination courts to accept papers from prospective candidates, voter education, inviting observers for accreditation, procurement of election materials and designing and printing of ballot papers.
“The commission is now in the process of printing the final voters’ rolls to be used on the 27th of March 2015. Further, training and deployment of electoral officers has been scheduled to take place between 20 and 24 March 2015 in readiness for the polls.”
Some 35 827 were registered to vote in Chirumanzu-Zigabwe, and 36 634 in Mt Darwin West.
ZEC said poll results would be announced at constituency command centres on Saturday.
Registered observers include ZimRights, the Election Resource Centre, Zimbabwe Reveal for Generations Trust, Zimbabwe Youth in Tourism, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, and the Zimbabwe Election Support Network.
The Chirumanzu-Zibagwe seat fell vacant after the elevation of Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa to the post of Vice-President, while Mt Darwin West automatically became vacant when Dr Joice Mujuru became VP in 2013.
In Mt Darwin West, Cde Barnwell Seremwe will represent Zanu-PF while Kenard Fungai contests under Transform Zimbabwe with Mr Cyril Muradzi standing for Freedom Front of Zimbabwe and Mr Reuben Mafigu representing the National Constitutional Assembly.
In Chirumanzu-Zibagwe, Cde Auxillia Mnangagwa of Zanu-PF will battle it out with Mr Gadzamoyo Dhewa of Good People Movement, Mr Munashe Mutodza of the NCA, Ms Abigail Musambasi of Transform Zimbabwe, and independent candidate Mr Willboard Kanoti.
