Electoral Amendment Bill ignores pertinent reforms
THE Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) expresses concern over the scope of the proposed changes that are contained in the recently gazetted Electoral Amendment Bill. The gazetted Bill which seeks to amend the Electoral Act [Chapter 2:13] proposes the removal of the driver's licence as proof of identity for electoral purposes; seeks to disqualify previously convicted persons from contesting in elections and provides a timeframe (21 days) when a candidate may withdraw from contesting in a National Assembly or local authority elections. The Bill also provides for the incorporation of the youth quota in the National Assembly and the women's quota in local authorities which are both products of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 2) Act, 2019.
ZESN believes that the Bill addresses nominal and administrative reforms while ignoring pertinent reforms that may have a direct bearing on the transparency and credibility of elections in Zimbabwe. For instance, the removal of a driver's licence as proof of identity is purely nominal as the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has always declined it as proof of identity for election purposes for example during voter registration and voting.
ZESN is irked by the fact that the Electoral Amendment Bill is silent and does not address some of the key principles of electoral systems and processes on the conduct and management of credible, peaceful, free and fair elections as enshrined under Section 155 of the Constitution. Section 155 (2) of the Constitution states that: “The State must take all appropriate measures, including legislative measures to ensure that effect is given to the principles set out in subsection (1)." These principles include peaceful, free and fair elections, conducted by secret ballot, based on universal adult suffrage and equality of votes, which are free from violence and other electoral malpractices. Further, ZESN is concerned by the lowering of Constitutional standards as elaborated in the recently gazetted Electoral Bill.
The Bill creates a ceiling of 30% of women councillors as part of the quota system for women's representation. However, this does not represent the fullness of the Constitutional Amendment (No. 2) provision which seeks to create a minimum threshold for women in local government at 30% on a ward basis through a Proportional Representation. The Bill further violates the Constitution as it contains a proviso which will result in the decrease of the women's quota percentage when a political party fails to present a full list of candidates for the local authority women's quota. The provision makes women losers for their political parties' negligence, maladministration or incompetence.