Harare – In line with the Constitution, Parliament on Friday received, for debate, the preliminary delimitation report that was submitted to President Emmerson Mnangagwa on December 26 by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
The report presents the proposed wards and constituencies that were delimited by ZEC in 2022 for the purposes of the 2023 harmonised elections.
The last delimitation was conducted in 2007/8 and resulted in the drawing up of 210 House of Assembly Constituencies, 60 Senatorial Constituencies and 1 958 local authority wards which remained in use during the 2008, 2013 and 2018 harmonised elections.
But, due to population dynamics and changes in land use since the last delimitation, the electoral boundaries had to be re-drawn.
Highlights of the report include an additional Constituency for Harare province, which now has 185 624 more voters than during the last delimitation.
The additional constituency emanates from the splitting of Epworth Constituency into two.
“In order to determine the number of National Assembly Constituencies to allocate to the Province, the total number of registered voters for Harare Metropolitan Province which is 952 102 was divided by 29 to ascertain whether the average voter population for a constituency in the Province adhered to the constitutional thresholds,” ZEC said in the report.
“Compared to all other provinces, Harare province’s average voter population for a constituency of 32 831 was above the national minimum and average voter population thresholds allowable in terms of the Constitution but less than the maximum threshold. For this reason, the Commission allocated Harare province an extra National Assembly Constituency seat to bring the total number of allocated constituencies for the province to 30,” the report said.
“Five constituencies in the province have been renamed Churu, Epworth North, Epworth South, Hatcliffe and Hunyani.”
Bulawayo province, which had a total voter population of 270 938 as at 30 May 2022, remains with 12 Constituencies, but seven of them have been renamed.
The seven were renamed Bulawayo North, Cowdray Park, Emakhandeni-Luveve, Entumbane-Njube, Lobengula-Magwegwe, Mpopoma-Mzilikazi and Pelandaba-Tshabalala.
However, the report does not state the previous names of the renamed constituencies.
Manicaland, which had a voter population of 738 624, has retained the 26 constituencies as allocated to it in 2007/8 after the merging and splitting of some constituencies.
For example, Musikavanhu constituency was collapsed into Chipinge West.
Out of the 26 constituencies in Manicaland, 25 were modified and one new constituency was created (Chikanga), after the splitting of Dangamvura-Chikanga constituency into two.
In Mashonaland East, three constituencies – Chikomba Central, Chikomba East and Chikomba West – were reconfigured due to low voter population.
As a result, Chikomba Central was collapsed to leave only two constituencies, namely Chikomba East and West.
Masvingo Province, while it retained its 26 Constituencies, had a number of mergers of constituencies proposed by ZEC.
For example, Gutu South was collapsed and merged with other existing constituencies, and replaced by the creation of a new Chiredzi Central constituency.
Zaka East and Zaka West were merged to create Zaka South constituency, while another new constituency, Mwenezi North was also created.
Matabeleland South Province, which had 267 617 voters, 74 663 less than the 2007/8 total, was allocated 12 constituencies due to the low number of registered voters, down from the previous 13 constituencies.
Commenting on the report, Zanu PF legislator for Chegutu West, Dexter Nduna, who is also a member of a special Parliamentary committee tasked with scrutinising the delimitation report, said the report would be put to test against the Constitution.
“I would want to make sure that there is adherence to the law in particular when we interrogate how the report was arrived at by ZEC,” he said in an interview.
Another member, CCC MP Tendai Biti said: “This is a data driven process and the data will answer the questions that are posed by section 161 of the Constitution.”
Subsections (3) and (4) of Section 161 of the Constitution state that the boundaries of constituencies and wards must be such that, so far as possible, at the time of delimitation, equal numbers of voters that are registered in each constituency within Zimbabwe and in each ward of the local authority concerned.
However, the Commission is allowed to depart from this general principle in Section 161(6) although it is to ensure that no Constituency or ward may have more than 20 percent more or fewer registered voters than the other such constituencies or wards.
The same section also stipulates that straddling of ward boundaries is not allowed in delimiting electoral boundaries and that ZEC must ensure that no ward is divided between two or more local authority areas.
The Commission must also ensure that no ward is divided between two or more constituencies
According to a set road-map, after the report was tabled, an adhoc parliamentary committee will review it and produce its findings by January 13.
After that, Parliament will then debate on the findings before it presents recommendations to President Mnangagwa by January 19. – New Ziana
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