Elections in the constituency could not be held
simultaneously with the harmonised elections on August 23 following the death
of one of the candidates, Christopher Mutonhori Rwodzi, whose name had been
duly accepted when the Nomination Court sat on June 21 this year.
That automatically triggered the postponement of the poll
for the seat.
President Mnangagwa set a new date for the Gutu West
by-election in a proclamation gazetted yesterday in terms of the Electoral Act
with the Nomination Court sitting on October 10 to receive names of candidates
interested in contesting in the poll.
Other candidates that had been duly nominated to contest
for Gutu West Constituency included Cde John Paradza of Zanu-PF and Mr Ephraim
Murudu of CCC.
The Electoral Act compels ZEC to defer a constituency
election should a candidate die between the sitting of the Nomination Court and
the poll, or even while voting is in progress.
In that regard, ZEC must declare that all proceedings
relating to that election were void and that all proceedings relating to that
election must start afresh in the same manner as if a vacancy had occurred.
In the just-ended harmonised elections, Zanu-PF won 136
National Assembly constituencies against 73 constituencies for the CCC, with
the ruling party winning an extra 40 seats under the women’s and youth quotas
and CCC an extra 30.
This means Zanu-PF’s tally might rise to 177 should it win
in the Gutu West by-election, as observers think is likely when looking at the
results in neighbouring seats.
In Gutu District, Zanu-PF won all the other three seats in
the August harmonised elections, including that for CCC leader Nelson Chamisa’s
home area. Chronicle
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