The ruling party in Zimbabwe, ZANU PF, has gained a two-thirds majority in Parliament after winning at least two constituencies in recent by-elections. These by-elections took place on Saturday 4 February 2024 to fill vacancies left by the recalls of Members of Parliament and councillors by CCC’s disputed interim secretary general Sengezo Tshabangu. Six constituencies held by-elections, including Chegutu West, Seke, Goromonzi South, Mkoba North, Pelandaba-Tshabalala, and Zvimba East.
ZANU PF was able to secure a two-thirds parliamentary majority, which they had failed to achieve in the general elections held on 23-24 August 2023. They only needed to win three seats to reach this majority. They now have 190 seats in the 280-member National Assembly.
In Marondera, ZANU PF won all three vacant council seats. In Ward 10, ZANU PF received 489 votes compared to CCC’s 152. In Ward 8, ZANU PF had 435 votes while CCC had 121. In Ward 3, ZANU PF received 325 votes while CCC had 73.
Zvimba East constituency:
ZANU PF’s Kudakwashe Mananzva won the Zvimba East constituency with 10,359 votes, defeating independent candidate Oliver Mutasa and CCC’s Agrippa Alberito, who received 1992 and 855 votes respectively. Oliver Mutasa, a recalled CCC MP, ran as an independent candidate.
Pelandaba-Tshabalala constituency:
Joseph Tshuma of ZANU PF won the Pelandaba-Tshabalala constituency with 1845 votes, defeating CCC’s Moreblessing Tembo (464 votes) and DOP’s Abraham Yona Nkomo (156 votes). This constituency was previously represented by Gift ‘Ostallos’ Siziba before his recall by the CCC.
Seke Constituency:
Kashambe Munyaradzi Tobias, who belongs to the ZANU PF party, has been elected as the Member of Parliament for Seke Constituency. He received 8,586 votes with Everisto Chisi getting 669 votes, while Willard T. Madzimbamuto received 2401 votes.
Mkoba North:
ZANU PF also claimed Mkoba North, with candidate Ncube Edgar receiving 2,415 votes and defeating Patrick Tayiya of DOP, who received 1,663 votes. The seat was previously held by CCC MP Amos Chibaya, who was recalled and then barred from standing in the by-election by a court.
Chegutu West Constituency:
Shakemore Timburwa of ZANU PF won the by-election in Chegutu West Constituency, becoming the MP with 6,697 votes. The previous CCC candidate, Admore Chivero, lost as an independent candidate, receiving 2,626 votes. Gift Konjana of MDC-A received 668 votes.
Goromonzi South Constituency:
In Goromonzi South Constituency, Washington Zhanda of ZANU PF won with 6,865 votes, while Reuben Chikudo of CCC received 1,067 votes.
The Election Resource Centre, an election watchdog, noted that voter turnout remained extremely low, averaging 13% at observed polling stations by noon on election day.