ELECTORAL ACT ____________________________________________________________________________________ ACT AN ACT to provide for the terms of office, conditions of service, qualifications and vacation of office of members of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the procedure at meetings of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the appointment of the Chief Elections Officer; to make provision for the registration of voters and for the lodging of objections thereto; to provide for the preparation, compilation and maintenance of voters rolls; to prescribe the residence qualifications of voters and the procedure for the nomination and election of candidates to and the filling in of vacancies in Parliament; to provide for elections to the office of the President; to provide for local authority elections; to provide for offences and penalties, and for the prevention of electoral malpractices in connection with elections; to establish the Electoral Court and provide for its functions; to make provision for the hearing and determination of election petitions; and to provide for matters connected with or incidental to the foregoing. [Long title substituted by s. 43 of Act No. 3 of 2012 and amended by Part VI of Schedule to Act No. 3 of 2016] Whereas sections 157(1), 238 and 239 of the Constitution provide as follows— “157.(1) An Act of Parliament must provide for the conduct of elections and referendums to which this Constitution applies, and in particular for the following matters— (a) the periodic delimitation of constituencies and wards in accordance with section 161; (b) the registration of voters, and requirements for registration on particular voters’ rolls; (c) a code of conduct for political parties, candidates and other persons participating in elections or referendums; (d) a system of proportional representation for the election of persons to the seats in the Senate referred to in section 120(1)(a) and the seats reserved for women in the National Assembly referred to in section 124(1)(b), and the procedure for filling vacancies in those seats, which vacancies must be filled by persons— (i) belonging to the same political parties as those who previously held the seats; and (ii) of the same gender as the persons who previously held the seats; (e) the election of representatives of persons with disabilities under section 120(1)(d); (f) the conduct of elections to provincial and metropolitan councils and local authorities; (g) challenges to election results.” “238.(1) There is a commission to be known as Zimbabwe Electoral Commission consisting of— 15