Thread by @NewsHawksLive

#DelimitationD-Day
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa must today gazette the controversial final delimitation report on deadline day since its submission on 3 February 2023 or breach the constitution, which is an impeachable offence with dramatic political consequences.

Delimitation is the process of dividing the country into wards constituencies for the purposes of elections of Members of Parliament and councillors.
The process is carried out in terms of sections 160 and 161 of the current constitution which came to force in 2013.

The process is done by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chaired Justice Priscilla Chigumba who works with eight other commissioners.
However, seven of them have revolted against her over the contentious process which has divided Mnangagwa and top government officials.

ZEC is constituted in terms of Chapter 12, Section 238 of the constitution.
It has nine commissioners whose terms of office are six years.
There chair and her deputy are appointed on a full time basis. Four of the eight commissioners, other than the chairperson, must be women.

Once every 10 years, on a date or within a period fixed by the commission so as to fall as soon as possible after a population census, Zec must divide Zimbabwe into wards and constituencies of electoral boundaries for general elections.

The delimitation process must be completed six months before polling day in general elections. If not the boundaries so delimited do not apply to those elections and instead the boundaries that existed immediately before the delimitation are applicable.

Chigumba handed over the preliminary draft delimitation report to Mnangagwa on 26 December 2022 before the President tabled it in Parliament for debate within the required seven days on 6 January 2023.
Parliament through an ad hoc committee made recommendations for changes.

After that the draft delimitation report, together with parliament's recommendations, was handed over to Mnangagwa for his input. Mnangagwa then sent it back to Zec for it to compile the final report.
On 3 February 2023, Chigumba handed over the final report to Mnangagwa.

Within 14 days after getting the final report, the President in terms of Section 161 of the constitution "must publish a proclamation in the gazette declaring the names and boundaries of the wards and constituencies as finally determined by the commission".
Today is the deadline.

Mnangagwa's senior government officials and functionaries have been trying to manipulate the process by claiming the report given to him on 3 February is not final when it is.
This has created deep divisions and chaos in government amid fierce Zec infighting ahead of elections.

In terms of section 161 of the constitution, what Mnangagwa got on 3 February 2023 from Chigumba was the final report that must be gazetted by today, or else the President would be in deliberate and brazen breach of the constitution, which is an indefensible, impeachable offence.