SYDNEY MUBAIWA
MIDLANDS BUREAU

GWERU – There are 16 by-elections that will take place in the Midlands Province on March 26, 2022 following the proclamation by President Mnangagwa last week.
Eleven of those are local council seats while five are Parliamentary seats, according to information obtained by The Mirror.

Of the 16 by-elections, 10 or 62,5% of them are due to deaths while five or 31,2% are a result of the recalls made the Mwonzora led MDC T. The remaining one by-election or 6,3% is a result of a reassignment made by President Mnangagwa.
A Zimbabwe Electoral Commission official in Gweru, Chirikure confirmed the figures to The Mirror.

“We have 16 vacant seats across Midlands Province; five are National Assembly while eleven are local authorities. The posts fell vacant due to deaths and recalls of members by their respective political parties”, said Chirikure.
The National Assembly seats are Mkoba Constituency which fell vacant due to the recall of Amos Chibaya by the Douglas Mwonzora led MDC-T, Kwekwe Central Masango Matambanadzo (NPF death), Mbizo Settlement Chikwinya (MDC T recall), Mberengwa South Alarm Mpofu (death) Gokwe Central Victor Matemadanda (reappointment as Ambassador to Mozambique).

The eleven local authorities are Gokwe North Ward 23 (death), Mberengwa RDC Ward 34 (death), Mberengwa RDC Ward 25 (death), Chirumhanzu Takawira RDC Ward 1 (death), Chirumhanzu Takawira RDC Ward 3 (death), Zibagwe RDC Ward 8 (death), Kwekwe Manicipality Ward 5 (recall), Kwekwe Municipality Ward 8 (death), Kwekwe Manicipality Ward 10 (recall), Kwekwe Municipality Ward 12 (recall, and Gweru Municipality Ward 2 (recall).

He proclaimed 26 January as the date for the nomination courts.
The Zimbabwe Electrial Commission had in 2020 suspended the holding of by-elections in line with government’s Covid-19 regulations, banning huge gatherings to curb the spread of the pandemic.