Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi on Tuesday said that the government does not have plans to postpone the holding of by-elections indefinitely.
This follows reports that the ZANU PF-led government has made a pact with the smaller MDC faction to form a unity government after a Supreme Court ruling handed over the reins of the opposition party to Thokozani Khupe.
Ziyambi said by-elections are a constitutional requirement and the government has to ensure that they are held when they are due. He said:
By-elections are a constitutional requirement and if a seat is vacant, we have to hold them because someone can make a court application to challenge that we did not hold them as stipulated by the Constitution and so we have to find the money to hold the by-elections.
Ziyambi dismissed reports that the government intends to amend the Constitution to do away with by-elections. Said Ziyambi:
It is not true that Zanu PF is planning to amend the Constitution to ban by-elections because the Constitutional Amendment (No 2) Bill is before Parliament and there is no clause to ban by-elections.
The Constitution is a sacred document and it cannot be amended willy-nilly, but rumour mongers always create fake news.
Earlier this month, the MDC-T recalled MDC Alliance MPs and the National Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda declared the three seats vacant.