HARARE – President Emmerson Mnangagwa will publish the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC)’s final delimitation report on Monday, the elections body said.
ZEC deputy chairperson Simukai Kiwa made the disclosure at the United Nations offices in Harare where the government of Japan extended a US$1.44 million grant to ZEC for capacity building.
Flanked by the Japanese ambassador Satoshi Tanaka and the United Nations country representative Edward Kallon, Kiwa said: “We are grateful for the financial assistance which is coming at a critical time as preparations for the 2023 harmonised elections are being undertaken.
“And I can say to you that the gazette will be coming out sometime this afternoon on the delimitation.”
ZEC handed over its final delimitation report to Mnangagwa on February 3, and the elections body’s chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba reportedly resisted attempts to arm-twist her into another revision.
Mnangagwa has been accused by opposition rivals of “constitutional delinquency” after missing a 14-day deadline to publish the report in the Government Gazette after receiving it from ZEC. The deadline expired on February 17.
The publication of the final report will be a stunning personal victory for Justice Chigumba, who faced a rebellion by seven of ZEC’s nine commissioners who had petitioned Mnangagwa to reject the report and order a fresh delimitation process after the elections. Kiwa was the only commissioner to back the ZEC boss.