By- The government has released names of 157 candidates running for parliament 28 parliament seats which will be contested in next month’s by-elections.

The forthcoming elections will also see other candidates battling it out for local authority seats, where nearly 120 seats were declared vacant.

The candidates’ names were published through a Government Gazette extraordinary General Notice 229A OF 2022 issued yesterday in line with the Electoral Act.
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chief elections officer, Mr Utoile Silaigwana, said the candidates were successfully nominated last month at the Nomination Court.
The by-elections will be held on March 26.

“It is hereby notified, in terms of section 48 of the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13) that at the close of the sitting of the Nomination Courts, which sat on Wednesday, 26th January, 2022 and Friday 28th January, 2022, the candidates listed in the schedule were duly nominated for the elections as members of the National Assembly in their respective constituencies,” said Mr Silaigwana.
“Accordingly, polling shall take place on Saturday, 26th March, 2022, from 7am to 7pm for the purposes of electing members of the National Assembly in the said constituencies.”

The contesting parties include Citizens Coalition for Change, New Patriotic Front, Free Zimbabwe Congress and the Republican Party of Zimbabwe, Zanu-PF, MDC-Alliance, Zimbabwe Labour Party.