AFRICAN EYE

By Rawlings Magede  The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA) singles out the need for stronger and independent institutions as enablers for the conducting of free and fair elections. Section 3 (a) of ZIDERA deals with the independence of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) which is supposed to carry out its functions assigned under Section 239 of the constitution in an independent manner. Section 3 (c) deals with the Defence Forces of Zimbabwe who are bound by the constitution in Section 208 not to act in a partisan manner or further the interests of any political party.  The 2018 elections left a lot of talking points especially around the credibility of ZEC and the complicit of security services in determining electoral outcomes. The unfortunate events of August 1, 2018 left a dark cloud hanging over prospects for the enjoyment of fundamental human rights and freedoms such as the right to petition and demonstrate enshrined in Section 59 of the constitution. The e