Source: The Herald – Breaking news.
Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has called on all political parties taking part in the local authorities and National Assembly elections on August 23 to submit party lists for the women’s and youth quotas as required by Constitutional Amendment 2 of 2021.
The constitutional amendment introduced a 30 percent women’s quota in local authorities and 10 seats for youths in the National Assembly.
In a statement, ZEC Chief Elections Officer, Mr Utloile Silaigwana, said the party list for the women’s quota should include women eligible to be elected as councillors while the youths should be aged between 18 and 35.
“The ZEC would like to draw the public’s attention to Constitutional Amendment Number 2 of 2021, which among other provisions, says a political party contesting in the local authority elections may submit a nomination paper containing the names of women as party-list candidates nominated by such party for every local authority in which it intends to field two or more (non-party-list) candidates for direct election as councillors,” Mr Silaigwana said. He added that the party list for the local authority must have at least 30 percent of the total number of the local authority concerned as women aged 21 years and above. The list must be lodged with the District Elections Officer for the local authority to which it relates on any day before nomination and if lodged on nomination day, at the local authority offices which have been designated as Nomination Court venues in terms of Proclamation 4 of 2023.
On the youth quota list, Mr Silaigwana said any party contesting the National Assembly constituency elections may submit a youth party list for each province it is contesting.
“The party list must be lodged with the Provincial Elections Officer for the province to which it relates. The Provincial Elections Officer will be the nomination officer for that province,” Mr Silaigwana said.
He added that the party list must be submitted to the Provincial Nomination Officer on nomination day at the designated Provincial Magistrates Court venues specified in Proclamation 4 of 2023.
The nomination courts for this year’s harmonised elections will sit on Wednesday.
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