News Africa

Zimbabwe by-elections: Polls open in controversial vote

The vote was triggered after some opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) MPs had their seats declared vacant.

This was engineered by someone claiming to be the party’s secretary-general.

The outcome could give the government an overwhelming majority.

The CCC lost August’s general election but won more than 100 of the 280 seats in parliament. This denied the ruling Zanu-PF party a two-thirds majority that would enable it to change the constitution.

And there are people who suspect that the party has played a role in forcing these by-elections in constituencies where it recently lost.

But the CCC is plagued by factional conflicts and the current crisis appears to a large extent to be self-inflicted.

The reason this all matters is that President Mnangagwa’s party is just a few seats short of a two-thirds majority in parliament.

Once it crosses that threshold, constitutional changes can be pushed through. It would be no great surprise if there is soon talk of abolishing presidential term limits.

Zimbabweans had hoped the downfall of Robert Mugabe six years ago would see the country go on a more democratic path.

What is surprising is some within the opposition appear to be helping concentrate power in the president’s hands.

In October, Sengezo Tshabangu, a name up to that point was unknown to most people in Zimbabwe, wrote to the parliamentary speaker alleging some CCC MPs had “ceased to be members of the party”.

The CCC leader, Nelson Chamisa, immediately labelled Mr Tshabangu a fake and told the speaker to ignore the letter.

But it was Mr Chamisa who was ignored as the speaker duly declared vacancies in the constituencies. Saturday’s by-elections are a result of that.

 

Source: bbc.com

Ogyem Solomon

Solomon Ogyem – Media Entrepreneur | Journalist | Brand Ambassador Solomon Ogyem is a dynamic Ghanaian journalist and media entrepreneur currently based in South Africa. With a solid foundation in journalism, Solomon is a graduate of the OTEC School of Journalism and Communication Studies in Ghana and Oxbridge Academy in South Africa. He began his career as a reporter at OTEC 102.9 MHz in Kumasi, where he honed his skills in news reporting, community storytelling, and radio broadcasting. His passion for storytelling and dedication to the media industry led him to establish Press MltiMedia Company in South Africa—a growing platform committed to authentic African narratives and multimedia journalism. Solomon is the founder and owner of Thepressradio.com, a news portal focused on delivering credible, timely, and engaging stories across Ghana and Africa. He also owns Press Global Tickets, a service-driven venture in the travel and logistics space, providing reliable ticketing services. He previously owned two notable websites—Ghanaweb.mobi and ShowbizAfrica.net—both of which contributed to entertainment and socio-political discussions within Ghana’s digital space. With a diverse background in media, digital journalism, and business, Solomon Ogyem is dedicated to telling impactful African stories, empowering youth through media, and building cross-continental media partnerships.

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