A local election advocacy group, the Election Resource Centre (ERC), has issued a warning that suspending the upcoming harmonized elections in Zimbabwe would be a violation of the constitution and a threat to the country’s democracy.
The ERC’s statement comes in response to calls from some opposition political parties to suspend the polls due to alleged flaws in the recently released Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) delimitation report.
According to the ERC, suspending the elections would be a move away from democratic accountability, violating the rights of Zimbabweans to participate in the democratic process and potentially leading to political instability.
“Suspending elections denotes a move away from the hard deadline spelt out in the Constitution where the terms of office of elected officials end on 26 August 2023. This is a threat to Zimbabwe’s constitutional democracy. Should the elections get suspended, this could lead Zimbabwe to a legal lacuna as there is no extension provision regarding terms of office.
“Additionally, the ERC would like to reiterate and make it clear that the Constitution is explicit and peremptory in that, where the delimitation report is not completed six months before an election, or where it is deemed unconstitutional, the old boundaries ought to apply for that election and does not envision a suspension of elections,” said ERC
The group also stated that suspending elections would represent a deviation from the constitutional deadline for the terms of office of elected officials to end on August 26, 2023. This, the ERC argues, would create a legal lacuna and pose a threat to Zimbabwe’s constitutional democracy.
The ERC emphasized that the Constitution requires power to be acquired only through a periodic election conducted every five years, and the term of office of elected government officers is strictly five years.
The group maintained that there is no legal basis that would allow the current government to legitimately remain in power post-August 26, 2023. Therefore, any proposed suspension of the 2023 Harmonised Elections poses a threat to Zimbabwe’s democracy.
The country is expected to hold the polls between July 26 and August 26, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa expected to announce the election date soon.
