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BY-ELECTIONS

By-elections are held when there is a vacancy in the constituency membership of the National Assembly or the council membership of local authorities.

By-elections

For the purposes of by-elections, Section 129 of the Constitution provides for common circumstances where a seat becomes vacant. These are;

· When a Member of Parliament or a Councillor resigns

· When a Member of Parliament or a Councillor becomes the President or Vice President

· When a Member of Parliament or a Councillor has ceased to be a member of a political party on whose ticket he was elected on and by written notice the political party concerned has notified the Speaker in the case of a Member of Parliament or the Minister of Local Government in the case of a Councillor, that the said member has ceased to belong to it, and

· Death of a Member Parliament or a Councillor.

The Constitution in Section 158(3) provides that by-elections to fill vacancies must take place within ninety (90) days after the vacancies occurred.

However if a vacancy occurs nine(9) months before a general election is due to be held, the vacancy may remain unfilled until the general election.

In accordance with Section 39 of the Electoral Act in the event of a vacancy in the constituency membership of the National Assembly, the Speaker of Parliament must as soon as possible notify in writing the President and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission about the vacancy.

President Mnangagwa

After being notified, the President within fourteen days, must through a publication in the Gazette, order a new election to fill the vacancy. The President should order a nomination date and the poll date.

In case of a council vacancy, the Electoral Act in section 121 and 121A provides that, within twenty one days of becoming aware of the vacancy, the clerk of the said council or the chief executive officer must in writing notify the Minister of Local Government and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission of the vacancy.

In not less than twenty-eight or more than sixty-six days before the day appointed for any by-election to fill the vacancy, the Commission shall, by notice published in a newspaper and posted at its office, fix a nomination day.

In not less than thirty or more than forty-five days after the nomination day the Commission should fix a day on which a poll shall be taken if a poll becomes necessary.

Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs

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