By-elections could put the MDCs parliamentary majority under serious threat, according to rights organisation SOKWANELE. And, if polls are delayed, the result could be more political violence.The map above shows constituencies where seats may need to be fought for in by-elections as a result of MPs dying or being convicted of a crime. One vacant seat is due to Lovemore Moyo becoming speaker of parliament.
Nine seats are currently under threat because of MPs awaiting trial. Two of these are held by Zanu (PF), and three of the deaths were also Zanu (PF) MPs. This means the MDC (Tsvangirai) potentially faces 12 by-elections (assuming those awaiting trial are convicted and lose their appeals and imprisoned for more than six months) and Zanu (PF) potentially faces five by-elections, under the same terms.
According to Sokwanele, it is often assumed that the political agreement (IPA) lays down that there will be no by-elections until after September 15 a year after the signing of the IPA, but that is incorrect.
The IPA states that during those twelve months should any electoral vacancy arise in respect of a local authority or parliamentary seat, for whatever reason, only the party holding that seat prior to the vacancy occurring shall be entitled to nominate and field a candidate to fill the seat subject to that party complying with the rules governing its internal democracy. In other words, the three parties agree not to stand against each other in by-elections but this cannot prevent other parties or independent candidates from exercising their legal right to contest by-elections.
In Bill Watch 20, Veritas noted that some of the by-elections dated back to 2008 and were long overdue.
Under section 39 of the Electoral Act a by-election proclamation must be gazetted within 14 days of the president receiving notification of a vacancy. Parliament has stated that all vacancies were promptly notified to the presidents office. A recent newspaper report stated that it was up to ZEC to set the by-election procedure in motion, but that is not so. ZEC has to wait for the proclamations to be gazetted by the president. This is not a matter in which the president is free to act as he thinks fit; he must act in accordance with xabinet advice. So the inclusive government as a whole is responsible for these delays.
If the Electoral Acts requirements for calling by-elections are not complied with, the High Court can order compliance, provided an interested party takes the trouble to go to court; that happened in Bulawayo last year when a by-election was unduly delayed.
There is a worry that waiting for the vacancies resulting from existing MPs being appointed as new provincial governors will be another reason put forward for further delays.
Some are worried that if by-elections are delayed till mid-September, this would raise the spectre of election violence.
Post published in: News