The Parliament of Zimbabwe has finalised preparations for Tuesday’s election of the Speaker of National Assembly, Senate President and their deputies. Parliamentarians who missed last week’s induction will also be sworn in on Tuesday.
Election results are announced immediately after polling. Clerk of Parliament Mr Kennedy Chokuda told The Sunday Mail last week that, “Definitely, we are ready for the process and as required by the Constitution. We have engaged ZEC as we prepare for the elections because as you might be aware, the elections are done by the Clerk of Parliament with the supervision of ZEC.
“We have gone through our procedures with them and we have also gone through logistical requirements – ballot boxes and so forth – and also as you will notice, we also have Members of Parliament with disabilities; we are also making provisions for them so that they can vote in comfort.
“What will happen is that when we meet on Tuesday, we start with swearing in of Members of Parliament who did not take their oath last Wednesday . . .
“Then we will proceed immediately to call for nominations. If we get just one nomination, there will be no need for an election. If we get more than one nomination, then we will have to proceed to elections by secret ballot and we will follow exactly more or less what happens during our national elections.
ZEC acting chief elections officer Mr Utoile Silaigwana said the elections management body was ready to supervise the elections.
“The elections for the Speaker of Parliament and Senate President, as well as their deputies, are conducted by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr Chokuda, as provided for by the Constitution of Zimbabwe, and ZEC will only play a supervisory role during the elections,” said Mr Silaigwana.
To qualify for nomination for Speaker of the National Assembly, a person must be a member or former member of the National Assembly, or be a registered voter and at least 21-years-old. To stand for the position of President of the Senate, a person must be a Senator or former Senator, or be a registered voter and at least 40 years of age. If a sitting MP is elected as Senate President or National Assembly Speaker, that person immediately ceases to represent a constituency.
The vacancy must be filled via a by-election or by the procedure for filling vacant proportional representation seats, as appropriate. Sunday Mail
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