Zimbabwe: Opposition Labels ZEC's Preliminary Delimitation Report Null Following Thorough Analysis

14 January 2023

The opposition has dismissed the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's (ZEC) preliminary delimitation report, calling it a nullity and urged the electoral body to redo the exercise.

After the analysis presentation to the acting partly speaker, Tendai Mavetera on Friday,Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) Harare East MP, Tendai Biti, said the report should be precise for it be accepted.

He said it was crucial to have last year's census report before analysing the delimitation report.

"Was the voters roll and census report made available to committee?

"Was the data complied with, especially, the 20% rule? It is a substantive process, procedural process, adjectival process, and we will come up with our procedure on Monday.

"Hazvina kutishamisa kuti paitwa report pasina census report. Tuesday tichange tosangana navo tichirovana muParliament," Biti said.

MDC Alliance leader and one of the adhoc committee members, Douglas Mwonzora, said ZEC must be asked to do the delimitation exercise again based on the population census.

"This report is unacceptable. The report is a nullity at law.

"For you to do a delimitation exercise, you must consider voter population, which comes from a census.

"Zimbabwe did a census last year but up to now, the results of the results are not there.

"Therefore, it is impossible to tell the population in each ward and constituencies. It misread the section," Mwonzora said.

According to Mwonzora, the country cannot hold elections based on the report.

"The matter is going to the President (Emmerson Mnangagwa), who is going to send it to ZEC. In my view, we cannot go to 2018 boundaries because these boundaries were made 15 years ago.

"We cannot use the current boundaries. Delimitation must last 10 years, and the population has moved. We must do the right thing.

"Parliament has noted these grave concerns and I am sure every Zimbabwean is concerned about a report like this."

Mwonzora warned, "If the President decides to do it alone, I do not know whether that is his intention.

"I have not seen any evidence of that and if ZEC goes on anyway, that election will be null and void and can be taken to court," stated Mwonzora.

Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said constitutional procedures would be followed.

He said the President is obliged to table it in Parliament so that lawmakers can debate.

"If Parliament has any concerns, they note them down and transmit them to His Excellency, who then informs concerns to ZEC," he said.

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