Staff ReporterThe Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has tabled its preliminary delimitation report in the National Assembly. The report outlines changes to the country’s electoral boundaries and was presented to President Emmerson Mnangagwa by ZEC chairperson Priscilla Chigumba in December 2022.
In a statement, Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said, “The Constitution of Zimbabwe states that the ZEC must conduct a delimitation of the electoral boundaries every 10 years, following a population census. The ZEC began this process in June and submitted its preliminary report to the President on December 26, 2022. The President is required to lay the delimitation report before Parliament within seven days for consideration and any issues to be referred to the ZEC for consideration.”
The National Assembly has established an ad-hoc committee to analyze the report, which will be chaired by a representative from the ruling party and include members from opposition parties and senators. The committee will report its findings to the National Assembly on January 13, 2023, with a debate on the report scheduled for January 17.
However, some opposition MPs have raised concerns about the fairness of the committee, claiming that it is dominated by representatives from the ruling party. Harare East MP Tendai Biti said that the opposition party will take a party position on the report after analyzing it, including considering the census report and compliance with constitutional provisions on the delimitation exercise.