Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Sengezo Tshabangu has called for by-elections between general elections to be scrapped.
Speaking during the third reading debate on the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill (No.3) in the Senate on Wednesday, Tshabangu argued that parties should simply fill vacancies themselves instead of holding by-elections.
His comments came as the Bill sailed through the Senate by 75 votes to four, with most of the 27 CCC senators voting in favour.
Tshabangu told the Senate that by-elections had “become a flashpoint of violence, division and a waste of public funds.”
He proposed that Parliament insert a transitional schedule into the Constitution stating that when a parliamentary seat falls vacant, “the party that held it will nominate a replacement – no election, no division.”
For seats held by independent candidates, he suggested the runner-up from the last election will automatically take over, with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) gazetting the replacement within 21 days.
“We want to return to the Government of National Unity (GNU) of 2008,” Tshabangu said. “Allow me to say we are serious about reducing the toxicity and cost of national elections. We must deal with mid-term by-elections.”
He recalled that under the 2008 Global Political Agreement (GPA), ZANU-PF and the two MDC formations had agreed there would be no by-elections during the transitional period, with Constitutional Amendment Number 19 suspending them and vacant seats filled by replacement nominees from the party that had won the original contest.
“Balance was preserved, millions were saved, national toxicity dropped and governance continued,” he said. “That same spirit must guide the Constitutional Amendment Bill (No. 3).”
Tshabangu framed the proposal as fiscally prudent and as a way of honouring, not overturning, the popular will.
The by-elections point was just one part of a wide-ranging address in which he also backed automatic voter registration linked to national ID issuance, called for at least 15 per cent of national revenue to be devolved to provinces, and pushed for a constitutional mechanism to address Gukurahundi-era reconciliation.
Tshabangu brought up the rejected 2000 constitutional referendum, which had included presidential age and term limits, to argue against calls for the Bill to go to a public referendum.
He told the Senate that the failure of the 2000 vote meant Zimbabwe “lost generational change” and that history shouldn’t be allowed to repeat itself.
Tshabangu, who voted with ZANU-PF, backed extending President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term by two years – an extension that would also apply to MPs, senators and councillors. Direct presidential elections would also be scrapped and replaced with a vote by Parliament.
“This clause is fiscally prudent. It is stability and respect [for] the mandate already given,” he said. “It sweeps away toxicity and electioneering so that we can focus on clinics, schools, jobs and Vision 2030,” he said, before urging senators to back the Bill.
The 42 CCC MPs and the four senators who refused to back ZANU-PF fear they could be recalled and replaced – if Tshabangu manages to secure the no-contest guarantees he is pushing for on by-elections.
More: ZimLive
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