The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has issued an update on the delimitation process which shall see some constituencies or wards either split or merged depending on several factors including the number of residents in that area. In a statement seen by Pindula News, ZEC spokesperson, Commissioner Jasper Mangwana appealed to stakeholders to cooperate with officers during the process. Reads the statement:
PRESS STATEMENT ON DELIMITATION UPDATE
1. Introduction Following the announcement of the commencement of the delimitation exercise in the General Notice published in the Government Gazette of 24 May 2022, the successful conduct of delimitation stakeholder engagements during the same month and the release of a population Census Report by ZlMstats, the Commission is now at an advanced stage of conducting delimitation fieldwork.
Factors Influencing Delimitation
In the conduct of this exercise, provisions of Section 161 of the Constitution guide the Commission.
Section 161(5) of the Constitution states that the Commission 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.
Section 161(6) of the Constitution further states that in dividing Zimbabwe into wards and constituencies, the Zimbabwe Electoral constituencies, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must in respect of any area, give due consideration to:
• Its physical features
• The means of communication within the area
• The geographical distribution of registered voters
• Any community of interest as between registered voters
• Existing electoral boundaries
• Its population
The Delimitation fieldwork is a culmination of a series of preparatory exercises conducted since the beginning of the year.
2. Voter Registration and Compilation of the Delimitation Voters’ Roll
In compliance with the delimitation steps, the Commission conducted phases 1 and 2 of the mobile voter registration exercise for delimitation in February and April this year to determine the country’s voter population. The voters’ roll for delimitation closed on 30 May 2022.
This voters’ roll was open for inspection at 11 107 established centres throughout the country from 17 July 2022 to 26 July 2022. In addition, Telone and Econet mobile phone subscribers also used the USSD code *265# and the online bvrinspection.zec.org.zw to check their registration status. 50.03% of the 5804569 registered voters inspected the voters’ roll.
3. Stakeholder Engagements
Following the conclusion of Phases 1 and 2 of the mobile voter registration exercises the Commission lined up a series of sensitisation meetings with various stakeholders to discuss pre-delimitation exercises.
The stakeholder meetings ran from 17 to 29 May 2022. The meetings sought among other issues to:
• Apprise stakeholders on the impending delimitation exercise.
• Brief stakeholders on provisions of the law with respect to the delimitation exercise and the link between census and delimitation.
• Brief stakeholders on continuous voter registration and the mobile voter registration exercise recently conducted by the Commission and its impact on the delimitation process.
• Highlight the critical role played by the various stakeholders in the delimitation process.
The following groups of stakeholders were engaged:
• Media
• Political Parties on the Commission’s database
• Political parties in Parliament and Chapter 12 Commissions
• The Security Sector
• People with disabilities, the Youth and Women
• Civil Society Organisations
• Service Providers
• Ministry of Local Government, Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Traditional Leaders
• Government ministries
4. Trainings
The Commission conducted Geographical Information System (GIS) technical trainings for all critical staff. These technical trainings commenced on 6 September 2022 and ended on 15 September 2022. The trainings were meant to equip participants with GIS technical skills which are essential In the actual conduct of this delimitation exercise.
Participants were drawn from ZEC, Local Authorities and other Government Departments such as ZIMStats and State Universities.
5. Current Delimitation Activities
In preparation for mapping afresh electoral boundaries, the Commission is bringing together provincial and district maps with topographical features such as mountains, rivers, roads, communication lines, settlements and different types of land use. These maps and general plans were obtained from the Surveyor General’s Office and the Department of Spatial Planning.
After mapping polling areas, fieldwork is carried out to verify the polling area boundaries in what is referred to as ground truthing. Polling areas are then combined to form wards while several wards are combined to form constituencies. The average voter population of each constituency is obtained by dividing the delimitation voters’ roll population by 210 constituencies with an allowable upper and lower limit of 20%.
6. Delimitation Tlmeframe
The Commission expects to conclude the exercise by December this year. In terms of Section 161(2) delimitation must be completed six (6) months before the conduct of any general election for it to be applicable to that election. Failure to adhere to this provision means the results of the delimitation exercise will not apply for the next general election, as the Commission will be compelled by the law to revert to boundaries of the 2007/2008 delimitation exercise.
7. Conclusion
The Commission would like to assure the electorate that no one will be prejudiced by the delimitation outcome. The delimitation results will be an outcome based on the Commission’s adherence to the country’s legal provisions and fair practice. At all stages of the process, voter education and stakeholder engagements will be conducted to bring all interested parties on board.
The Commission is appealing to all stakeholders to cooperate with its officers during this process.
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