ZEC cancels Vic Falls by-elections

Zim Now Writer

By-elections that had been scheduled for wards 9 and 11 of Victoria Falls have been cancelled following the rescission of their recalls by their sponsoring party.

ZEC Chief Elections Officer Mr Utloile Silaigwana confirmed the cancellation in a statement.

“It is hereby notified that the advertised vacancies for the City of Victoria Falls wards 9 and 11 and the party list PR vacancies are no longer in existence following the recession of the recall of the incumbents by their sponsoring party. Accordingly, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission advises that all electoral processes in relation to the said advertised by-elections have been cancelled with immediate effect," he said.

The councillors in question had been recalled by Citizens Coalition for Change interim secretary-general, Sengezo Tshabangu.

The CCC interim secretary-general initiated the recall of several legislators and councillors countrywide, including Victoria Falls’ ward 9 and 11 councillors Mthunzi Mpofu and Daniel Moyo respectively, who were part of the 52 that Tshabangu recalled from 15 local authorities last month.

The by-elections were expected to be done in February next year.

Tshabangu’s argument was that the recalled candidates were imposed on the people in the run-up to the August 23 elections and it is time to return the opposition outfit to constitutionalism.

Some of the recalled officials challenged the recalls in court but these were dismissed, leading to the holding of CCC lost some seats to the ruling Zanu-PF.

Victoria Falls has 11 elected councillors and three women’s quota councillors. The two proportional representation councillors, who had also been affected by the recall, are Mabukwana Ndlovu and Mariya Phiri.