By elections in Zimbabwe: Why we need new Electoral Laws to cover contingencies relating to Pandemics
By Rawlings Magede In 202O, Health Minister Constantino Chiwenga through Statutory Instrument (SI) 225A (Public health COVID -19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment Regulations) suspended the holding of by-elections. While the ban has been challenged in court, the outcome is still pending. Arguments that have been used to challenge the ban include Section 159 of the constitution that requires vacant elective public offices to be filled within 90 days and the lack of extensive multi-stakeholder consultations with citizens, Parliament, political parties, the academia and civil society and other key stakeholders. In my view, the bigger conversation or argument should be that our electoral laws are defective as they do not cover contingencies relating to pandemics and other emergencies. Just as John Nkengasong of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has argued that “COVID-19 will not be the final pandemic to challenge the world as more pandemics will emerge in the f