By-elections remain suspended: ZEC

Harare (New Ziana) –The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) on Tuesday said by-elections remain suspended on health grounds, but other electoral activities would resume in line with the relaxed national COVID-19 containment measures.

Electoral activities were suspended in January this year after the country entered into a level 4 COVID-19 lockdown as cases spiked.

The lockdown was only relaxed at the start of this month as infections decreased.

In a statement, the electoral management body said it would soon lift the suspension of voter registration and some field work.

“The resumption of those suspended activities will come into effect on 1 April 2021, however in view of the danger still posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to uphold some health provisions of SI 10 of 2021 which are still in force, the conduct of by-elections remains suspended,” it said.

“This position will be reviewed in due course and stakeholders will be advised accordingly.”

The country was supposed to hold Parliamentary and local government by-elections before the end of 2020 to fill vacancies which had arisen, chiefly from the massive recalls of opposition legislators and councilors.

But these could not go ahead as planned because of a brutal second wave of COVID-19, which hit the country starting December last year.

New Ziana