Gweru gains one more constituency?

GWERU – Gweru district is set to gain one more constituency to bring them to five after the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) provincial delimitation committee proposed to split
Mkoba constituency into two, it has been learnt.
The Times is reliably informed that Mkoba Constituency, currently in the hands of the
incumbent legislator Amos Chibaya of Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), is set to be
divided into Mkoba North and South.
The Midlands province Delimitation Proposal Report was on May 18 presented to political
parties which are scheduled to contest in the 2023 harmonised elections.
The proposal to divide Mkoba into two constituencies was however, met with mixed views
by representatives of political parties who attended the meeting.
It is proposed that Mkoba South will be made up of Ward 6-10 and 12 while Mkoba North
will consist of Ward 11,13 to 17.
If the proposal is approved by ZEC, Gweru district will now have five constituencies namely
Gweru Urban, Vungu, Chiundura, Mkoba North and South.
Midlands has a total of 28 National Assembly constituencies and 756 182 registered voters as
at April 30. Zimbabwe has over 5.6 registered voters.
“We have some reservations over the proposal to split Mkoba constituency into two. We will
however, represent the outcome of the Delimitation Proposal Report to the party leadership
for further deliberation,” said a representative of a political party who attended the meeting
which was chaired by the District Election Officer Joshua Mhino.
When contacted for a comment, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Chief Elections Officer
Utloile Silaigwana said it was too early to comment on the proposals as the delimitation
exercise was still going on.
“We have not finished, we are still working on delimitation. For now I cannot tell what the
outcome will be because we are still working on it,” said Silaigwana.
Delimitation is the process of dividing the country into constituencies and wards for the
purposes of elections of persons to constituency seats in the National Assembly and of
councillors to local authorities. The process is carried out in terms of sections 160 and 161 of
the new Constitution.
The delimitation of constituencies, wards and other electoral boundaries for elections over the
next decade, including the 2023 harmonized elections, started on June 1 and will end on
December 31.
In terms of section 161(7) of the Constitution, at the conclusion of the boundary delimitation,
the Commission shall produce and submit to the President a preliminary report.

The report has to contain a list of the wards and constituencies, with the names assigned to
each and a description of their boundaries, maps showing the wards and constituencies, and
any further information or particulars which the Commission considers necessary.