Nhau News Online News that is accurate, reliable, trustworthy!!
Vice President and Health minister Constantino Chiwenga has vowed that by-elections will not take place anytime soon during the COVID-19 pandemic period despite health officials saying polls were possible.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently issued a statement saying that it was safe to conduct elections.
In his opposing affidavit in response to a High Court application by the Election Resource Centre (ERC), the Women’s Academy for Leadership (Walpe) and six other applicants, Chiwenga claimed that banning by-elections would save lives.
This is despite other countries successfully holding elections in spite of the COVID-19 crisis.
Ironically President Emmerson Mnangagwa this week rushed to Tanzania to observe the inauguration of President John Magufuli who was elected in last week’s highly-contested polls.
Other countries like Malawi have also held presidential elections during the COVID-19 era.
In the High Court application, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) is cited as the first respondent while Mnangagwa is the second respondent.
“There is, therefore, already an existing considerable risk of a conflagration in the spread of the pandemic due to the laxity which has developed among the population. It is as if the pandemic has ceased to exist,” Chiwenga said. Zimbabwedaily
