Delimitation Exercise: ZEC Resolute To Meet Deadline

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is positive that it will carry out and complete the delimitation exercise in time for the plebiscite in 2023.

Delimitation is the process of redrawing wards and constituencies boundaries for electoral purposes to give them equal voting strength as much as possible.

According to the 2013 constitution, boundaries are redrawn every ten years, making the current delimitation exercise the first since 2008.

Additionally, the constitution stipulates that the delimitation process must be completed six months prior to the elections. Failure to meet the deadline the commission will revert to the previous boundaries.

In a telephone interview with Open Parly ZW, ZEC’s spokesperson Jasper Mangwana maintains that the commission finish on time.

“The commission is working flat out.

“I think you have seen that we have been doing a lot of technical training for delimitation.

“We are now mapping part of the constituencies and the polling areas to ensure we meet our deadline,” Mangwana said.

However, Legal watchdog Veritas opines that time may affect the delimitation exercise.

Furthermore, election watchdogs have blamed the commission for excluding excluded key stakeholders. A situation which may affect credibility of the entire process.

Asked why the commission was not engaging the relevant stakeholders Mangwana admitted that the commission had be received complaints.

“To a greater extent we even received complaints from some of the political players.

“We have done consultations at national level and provincial level and at both levels delimitation committees have been set up.

“We are also going further to engage including those in wards and districts to ensure that they are brought into the picture for delimitation.

In addition, Mangwana said ZEC would ensure that delimitation exercise would ensure communities of interest such as minority groups and marginalised communities, “are kept in the spirit of ensuring that were possible provinces must not lose seats to other provinces.”