Zimbabwe Calls By-Elections After Opposition Lawmakers Lose Seats
- CCC is contesting removal of 14 of its legislators in court
- Re-run of votes to be held on Dec. 9, Mnangagwa says
A voter casts their ballot at a polling station in Harare, Zimbabwe in August 2023.
Photographer: Cynthia R Matonhodze/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared by-elections in nine constituencies that were controlled by lawmakers from the main opposition party who were stripped of their parliamentary seats.
Friday’s proclamation of new votes is the latest blow to the Citizens Coalition for Change, which has been dogged by infighting and lost presidential and parliamentary elections in August that it claims were rigged. The re-run comes after Songezo Tshabangu, who describes himself as the CCC’s interim secretary-general, wrote to parliamentary speaker Jacob Mudenda to inform him that 14 of the party’s lawmakers had relinquished their membership.