Zec must institute electoral reforms

THE Zimbabwe Election Support Network (Zesn) participated in an electoral and political reforms workshop aimed at ensuring an improved environment by 2023 that was convened by the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs from May 30 to June 1, 2021 in Nyanga.

Participants of the workshop comprised representatives of the 18 political parties who are members of the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) and representatives from the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs ministry. Zesn jointly facilitated the workshop with the Election Resource Centre (ERC) and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) on the reviewing of the Draft Electoral Amendment Bill which impacts on the election management system.

Zesn, the ERC and ZLHR unpacked the changes that civil society organisations were proposing and how the recommendations could improve the Electoral Act if adopted.

A review of the Chapter 210 Bill by the ZLHR was also done in the meeting. Discussions centred on the reasons why an independent mechanism was needed to deal with complaints against the security services.

Polad agreed with most of the recommended changes in the Draft Electoral Amendment Bill, the areas of convergence and divergence were documented as they served as the starting point for future conversations with Polad, which committed to raise the same issues during Polad’s executive committee’s next meeting with the government.

For example, the workshop agreed that braille ballots should be adopted for use by visually impaired voters so that they are not assisted.

Some of the issues that were agreed on include that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) should prepare the voters’ rolls, register voters and the voters’ rolls should be kept by the commission; reflection on the accessibility of the voters’ roll; residence qualifications of voters; registering persons who are unable to present themselves at a registration office; elections timetables; claims for transfer of registration; agreed on strengthening the punitive measures for violators of voter education by other persons; agreed on vote recounting; agreed on political conduct during polling period as well as entitlement to vote, number of votes and identification of voters.

Conversely, some members of Polad postulated that government should play a role in the invitation of foreign election observers.

Diaspora vote was shot down, there was no consensus on funds and finances of the commission as it is not Zec’s duty to look for funding; no consensus was reached on the postponement of elections, also no agreement on postponement of voting at polling stations and the hours to open polling stations.

Furthermore, no consensus was reached on Electoral Court to disqualify persons responsible for electoral malpractices.

Zesn