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Bulawayo South

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bulawayo South
Constituency
for the National Assembly of Zimbabwe
ProvinceBulawayo
RegionBulawayo
Current constituency
Created1914
Seats1
PartyZANU–PF
Member(s)Raj Modi

Bulawayo South is a constituency represented in the National Assembly of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, located in Bulawayo. Its current MP since a 2023 by-election is Raj Modi of ZANU–PF.[1] Notable former MPs for the constituency include Eddie Cross and David Coltart.

Profile

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Bulawayo South is on the southern end of the city of Bulawayo. It is a predominantly black working-class area, with some middle- and upper-class areas. Roughly 85% of the inhabitants of the constituency are Ndebele-speaking and roughly 10% of the constituency is Shona-speaking. There are also several thousand white Zimbabweans and Indian Zimbabweans who live in the constituency as well. The working class area is centered around the Bulawayo suburbs of Sizinda, Tshabalala, and Sidojiwe (Flats), and factories as well as other industrial buildings can be found in the Belmont and Donnington industrial area. To the south, the constituency has suburbs Montrose, Newton West, Morningside, Southworld, West Somerton, and Barham Green. Prior to the 1990 election the constituency was one of the 20 white minority constituencies. The constituency has developed into a stronghold of ZANU-PF and Robert Mugabe opposition. The MDC has become a dominant presence in Bulawayo South and in 2000 saw the ZANU-PF candidate suffer a heavy loss of 51.6% of the vote. In the 2005 election, however, the ZANU-PF made a small but significant gain, while the MDC lost over 8,000 votes due in large part to poor voter turnout in the 2005 general election. The decline in support from 2005 to 2000 can also be attributed to constituency redistricting. David Coltart has remained a key member of the MDC as one of its highest-ranking members. Coltart is currently the MDC's Secretary for Legal Affairs and the Shadow Minister for Justice and Legal Affairs.

History

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Map of the white Bulawayo South constituency (1979-1987)

In the 2023 general election, Nicola Watson of the Citizens Coalition for Change defeated the incumbent MP, Raj Modi of ZANU–PF.[2][3] On 9 October 2023, Watson was recalled from Parliament along with 14 other CCC MPs after the party's purported interim secretary-general, Sengezo Tshabangu, wrote to Speaker Jacob Mudenda informing him that Watson and the other MPs had been expelled from the party.[4] A by-election, in which Watson was barred from running, was held on 9 December 2023, in which Modi was reelected to the seat.[5][6][7]

Members

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Election Name Party
1914 Gordon Forbes
1920 Francis Hadfield Ind. Labour
1924 Charles Folliot Birney Rhodesia Party
Henry Robert Barbour Rhodesia Party
1928 Harry Davies Labour
1933
1934
1939 Donald MacIntyre Labour
1946 James Stuart McNeillie Labour
1948 Henry Alfred Holmes United
1954 John Wrathall United Federal
1958 Benny Goldstein United Federal
1962 John Phillips Rhodesian Front
1965
1970 Arthur McCarter Rhodesian Front
1974 Ian Rees-Davies Rhodesian Front
1977 Desmond Chalmers Rhodesian Front
1979 Wally Stuttaford Rhodesian Front
1980
1982 by-election Bob Nixon Independent
1985 Graham Austen Biffen CAZ
1990 Lot Senda ZANU–PF
1995 Zenzo Nsimbi ZANU–PF
2000 David Coltart MDC
2005
2008 Eddie Cross MDC–T
2013
2018 Raj Modi ZANU–PF
2023 Nicola Watson CCC
2023 by-election Raj Modi ZANU–PF

Election results

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2000s

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General Election 2008: Bulawayo South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
MDC–T Eddie Cross 2,764 55 −20.8
MDC-M Jethro Mpofu 1,605 32 +32
ZANU–PF Jimmy Nleya 483 9.6 −17
Independent Marylin Ndiweni 112 2.2 N/A
United People's Party (Zimbabwe) Tobias Kamambo 58 1.2 N/A
Patriotic Union of MaNdebeleland Wilson Bancinyane 0 0.0 N/A
Majority 1,159 23 −29.2
Turnout 5,022 21.6 −14.8
MDC–T hold Swing
General Election 2005: Bulawayo South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
MDC David Coltart 12,120 75.8 −8.9
ZANU–PF Sithembiso Nyoni 3,777 23.6 +10.6
Independent Charles Mpofu 84 0.5 N/A
Majority 8,343 52.2 −19.5
Turnout 15,981 36.4 +0.6
MDC hold Swing
General Election 2000: Bulawayo South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
MDC David Coltart 20,781 84.7 N/A
ZANU–PF Callistus Ndlovu 3,193 13.0 −51.6
Independent Others 552 2.2 N/A
Majority 17,588 71.7
Turnout 24,526 35.8
MDC gain from ZANU–PF Swing

1990s

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General Election 1995: Bulawayo South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
ZANU–PF Zenzo Nsimbi 15,631 64.6 N/A
FPZ Ega Sansole 8,558 35.4 N/A
ZANU–PF hold Swing

1980s

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General Election 1985: Bulawayo South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
CAZ Graham Austen Biffen 1,354 74.9 −17.1
IZG Robert Graeme Nixon 454 25.1 N/A
CAZ hold Swing
General Election 1980: Bulawayo South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
RF Wallace Evelyn Stuttaford 3,715 92.0 N/A
Independent Francis Robert Bertrand 289 7.2 N/A
Independent John Francis Betch 36 0.9 N/A
RF hold Swing

1970s

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General Election 1979: Bulawayo South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
RF Wallace Evelyn Stuttaford 4,140 88.1 N/A
Independent Francis Robert Bertrand 500 10.7 N/A
Independent John Francis Betch 57 1.2 N/A
Majority 3,640 77.5 −13.0
Turnout 4,697
RF hold Swing
General Election 1977: Bulawayo South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
RF George Desmond Chalmers 701 95.2 N/A
RAP Ian Norman Berry 35 4.8 N/A
Majority 666 90.5
Turnout 736 69.5
RF hold Swing

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "MPs and Senators declared elected after 30 July 2018_harmonised elections". veritaszim.net. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Supreme Court gives green light for the CCC's 12 candidates". newZWire. 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  3. ^ "Zimbabwe Elections 2023 Results: Deputy Minister Raj Modi Loses Parliamentary Seat To CCC's Watson". Pindula. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  4. ^ "CCC MPs officially recalled from parliament". Harare Live. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  5. ^ Staff Reporter (2023-11-04). "CCC loses High Court application on recalled parliamentarians". The Zimbabwe Mail. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  6. ^ "Recalled CCC MPs File For Re-election As Tshabangu Fields Parallel Candidates". Pindula. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  7. ^ ZimSitRep_M (2023-12-10). "ZEC Releases 09 December 2023 By-election Results". Zimbabwe Situation. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
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