Zimbabwe Govt suspends elections amid widespread recalls of legislators

03 Octobre 2020

Harare, Zimbabwe, October 3 (Infosplusgabon) – The Zimbabwe government has indefinitely suspended elections due to COVID-19 concerns, a move many citizens and opposition parties have dismissed as a ruse for authoritarianism.

The move has proven timely as Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance (formerly MDC-T) led by Thokozani Khupe, armed with a March Supreme Court ruling, has been making recalls of members of parliament and local councillors.

Khupe has made the recalls over political leaders in the rival MDC Alliance faction, led by Nelson Chamisa, despite her only getting 45,000 votes and two parliamentary seats in the July 2018 national elections.

“Pursuant to the subsection (2), the holding of any by-election to fill a casual vacancy in Parliament or in a local authority is, for the duration of the period of the declaration of Covid-19 as a formidable epidemic disease, suspended, and if such vacancy occurred while such declaration is in force, no part of the period from the date of such vacancy to the date of the end of declaration shall be counted for the purposes of Section 158(3) of the Constitution” read the new Statutory Instrument (SI) 225A of 2020.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) recently announced that there were 15 vacancies in Parliament that needed to be filled through by-elections following the MDC Alliance (Khupe) recalls.

In Zimbabwe, when conducting elections each party goes through an internal poll and selects the winner to represent the party during national elections.

The selected candidate is then presented to the ‘Nominations Court’ by their party, under the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, a court which qualifies or disqualifies one to contest in any election.

Now, with the ban on by-elections, a party can essentially field a candidate and once accepted by the Nominations Court can take over the available recalled seat either in parliament or local council.

Khupe has already started this process as she appointed herself and six other proportional members of parliament to replace some of the newly vacant parliamentary seats following her recalls.

Others are Musarurwa Yvonne, Moyo Lindani, Sawuke January, Munochinzwa Memory, Sibanda Lwazi, and Mokone Sipho. Khupe also appointed eight new senators:  Molly Dorothy Ndlovu, Tamani Moyo, Piniel Denga, Kalpani Pugeni, Gertrude Moyo, Chief Ndlovu, Nomalanga Khumalo, and Teti Chisorochengwe.

Vice President Constantino Chiwenga who doubles as Health and Child Care minister announced the surprise suspension.

Chiwenga's ban on by-elections came a day after Khupe recalled 10 MDC Alliance (Chamisa) legislators among whom included one of Chamisa’s three party deputies, Lynett Karenyi Kore.

The other nine recalled are Binga North lawmaker Prince Dubeko Sibanda, Susan Matsunga (Mufakose), Ethrage Kureva (Epworth), Caston Matewu (Marondera), Wellington Chikomo (Glenorah), Eric Murayi (Highfield East), Unganai Tarusenga (St Marys), Dorcas Sibanda (Bulawayo) and Concillia Chinanzvavana (Mashonaland West).

The party’s spokesperson, Fadzayi Mahere said Zimbabwe’s democracy is the one that's under siege and that the new actions were a vicious assault on the will of the people who voted.

“People voted and their representatives have been removed from Parliament because they are vocal in their opposition to Mnangagwa (Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa), his broken policies & his illegitimacy. Zanu has installed Khupe who the people rejected but whom they control,” she tweeted on micro-blogging website, Twitter.

Khupe is believed to be a Mnangagwa alley by a lot of political parties.

The United Kingdom based Zimbabwean legal scholar, Alex Magaisa took to Twitter and said:

“Critics warned that COVID19 would present an opportunity for dictators to mount an assault on democracy. Statutory Instrument 225A effectively banning by-elections in Zimbabwe is living proof of it. Mnangagwa is lifting restrictions in other areas, but not in elections.

“But the legality of this Statutory Instrument is doubtful. It seeks to amend not only the Electoral Act but also the Constitution. The Minister of Health does not have power to do that. Second, the SI cannot operate retrospectively as it seeks to do. It’s all very clumsy.” (Source  Panapress).

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/OCT/GABON2020

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