Can Parliament convene over Zimbabwe Delimitation Report?
Ngoni Mhuruyengwe
December 27, 2022
Claim: President Emmerson Mnangagwa broke his annual vacation, just days into the holiday for an official ceremony to receive a Preliminary Delimitation Report from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), but Parliament as a separate arm of the State is not obliged to convene urgently to consider the Report, according to interpretations on some social media platforms.
Is this True of False?
False.
Under Section 110 of the current Constitution, the President’s powers include those to summon, adjourn and dissolve Parliament, and the power to appoint a limited number of members of Parliament.
Therefore Zimbabwe’s Executive Presidential system allows the President to order Parliament  into conducting “extraordinary” sittings to consider Special business matters — outside the schedules set by Parliament.
So although Parliament adjourned Sitting in mid December to January 24, 2023, it  will be called to meet earlier to debate the Preliminary Delimitation Report, with new proposals of boundaries of parliamentary constituencies and local government wards for general elections due by August 2023. After receiving the Delimitation Report, the law requires the President to cause the tabling of the Report to Parliament within seven working days, after which Parliament has 14 sitting days during which to study the Report before submitting its opinion to the President
The President can refer and recommend further items to ZEC for consideration before the final adoption of the Delimitation Report
Delimitation is the process of dividing the country into constituencies and wards for the purposes of elections of persons to constituency seats in the National Assembly and of councillors to local authorities. The process is carried out in terms of sections 160 and 161 of the new Constitution
(a) the boundaries of wards, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must ensure that noward is divided between two or more local authority areas;
(b) the boundaries of constituencies, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must ensurethat no ward is divided between two or more constituencies
(a) its physical features;
(b) the means of communication within the area;
(c) the geographical distribution of registered voters;
(d) any community of interest as between registered voters;
(e) in the case of any delimitation after the first delimitation, existing electoral boundaries; and
(f) its population;
(a) a list of the wards and constituencies, with the names assigned to each and adescription of their boundaries;
(b) a map or maps showing the wards and constituencies; and
(c) any further information or particulars which the Commission considers necessary; and the President must cause the preliminary delimitation report to be laid before Parliamentwithin seven days.
(a) the President may refer the report back to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission forfurther consideration of any matter or issue;
(b) either House may resolve that the report should be referred back to the ZimbabweElectoral Commission for further consideration of any matter or issue, and in thatevent the President must refer the report back to the Commission for that furtherconsideration.
Sources:
Zimbabwe Constitution, Section 160 and 161, Zimbabwe Constitution, Section 110,
Zimbabwe Government Press Statement, by George Charamba, Acting Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet,
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), www.zec.org.zw
Veritas – https://www.veritaszim.net/
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