Staff Writer
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) has commended the electorate for peacefully choosing their preferred representative in Council during the Chinhoyi Ward 4 and Harare Ward 36 Municipality by-elections.
In its preliminary statement on 9 March by-elections in Chinhoyi and Harare, ZESN said councillors were significant actors in the governance and administration of local authorities through service provision within their localities.
The by-elections were held in accordance with Section 121 A of the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13) following the recall of the incumbent councillor for the City of Harare Ward 36 and the setting aside of the declared results of 23 and 24 August 2023 by the High Court in Case Number R-HCCEC 1/23 in Ward 4 of Chinhoyi Municipality.
Section 136 (1) of the Electoral Act criminalizes vote buying in all its forms of bribery, loans, gifts, offer, promise, procurement or money payments to voters before, during and after elections to influence the vote.
“The by-elections in which Zimbabwe African National Unity Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) won all the two (2) seats were held to fill in a vacancies that arose in the Wards.
“The vacancy in Chinhoyi Municipality Ward 4 arose after the High Court nullified the victory of Archibald Muzanenhamo (independent candidate), who was initially declared the winner in the ward during the 23 and 24 August 2023 Harmonised Elections,” the network said.
ZESN recommended the following, based on its observations:
● _There is a need for greater political literacy amongst party supporters on the legal provisions contained in the Electoral Act on Regulations on tearing and defacing campaign posters of other political parties and candidates.
● _More needs to be done by political parties to encourage the electorate to ensure improved voter turnout in local authority by-elections and the enjoyment of political and electoral rights afforded them by Section 67 of the Constitution.
● _More voter education is needed on local authority elections which are very crucial as they determine local governance, directly impacting citizens’ day to day lives such as sanitation, public safety, public health, infrastructure and future development.
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