Labour Economist African Democrats (LEAD) president Linda Masarira has welcomed the proclamation of Parliamentary by-elections but has quizzed why council by-elections have been shelved.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has proclaimed that by-elections for vacant Parliamentary seats will be held on the 26th of March this year.
He also said the nomination court for the same elections will sit on the 26th of January.
There are 28 seats that are vacant in Parliament.
In an interview on the proclamation, Masarira said it was long overdue but bemoaned the missing council by-elections.
‘’It was long overdue, at least effort to ensure that all vacant Parliamentary seats are filled has been done.
‘’Our ball of contention is the absence of local authority council vacancies. When will they proclaim by-elections to fill vacant council seats?
The seats fell vacant due to recalls that were done by both Zanu PF and MDC-T.
Some of the seats also fell vacant due to the death of the legislators.
Most of the recalls were done in 2020 and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) had been dragging its feet to conduct the by-elections.
ZEC which is tasked with running and managing elections in Zimbabwe, at one time suspended all electoral activities due to COVID-19.
Besides serving to fill the vacant seats, the by-elections are expected to also put to rest contest between MDC-T and MDC Alliance on who commands the support of the Zimbabweans.
The proclamation for by-elections also comes at a time when ZEC has published that measly 2000 people have registered to vote in 2021.
ZEC was allocated about ZW$8 208 495 000 in the 2022 national budget meant for the management of elections and referendums. It remains to be seen if the funds will be enough to conduct elections, as ZEC has often complained about underfunding on several occasions.
