The Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC) turns 9 years this year having been established under Chapter
12 of the constitution in 2013. Its establishment was part of efforts by citizens
to bring sanity to our electoral democracy especially after sham elections in
2002, 2005, and 2008 respectively. Since its establishment, the electoral body
has done very little to inspire public confidence through its intents. After
the 2013 elections that were generally peaceful, there were allegations that
the electoral body had enlisted the services of an Israeli company, Nikuv to
rig elections on its behalf. Though these allegations divided public opinion,
they served to erode the little confidence citizens had in the new electoral body.
As ZEC turns 9 years this year, has it fulfilled the aspirations of those that
voted resoundingly in favour of the constitution in March 2013?
Our
Electoral processes have always failed the test!
While the 2013 election was generally peaceful, reports of massive vote-rigging hampered the prospects of ZEC
in presiding over free and fair elections. According to reports
a complex confluence of factors accounted for the 2013 electoral outcome. In some
cases, critics noted that the voters roll had ghost voters who ended up “voting”
on Election Day. The term “ghost voters” became center stage after election
results were released. In some constituencies, there were errors by the
Commission which dealt a heavy blow to its credibility. Unlike the 2008
elections which were very violent, the 2013 elections exposed administrative
gaps within the commission.
The 2018 elections, which
were punctuated by a new President in Zanu Pf didn’t fare any better. Delays in the release of results exposed the commission's inability to be impartial. In
constituencies such as Chegutu, the commission failed to vote-tallying of results
and announced a losing candidate, Dexter Nduna as a winner. To this day, he
represents this constituency in defiance of the principles of representative democracy.
Former Zanu pf member, Jonathan Moyo has written a book dubbed “ExcellGate”
that exposes how ZEC manipulated results using excel sheets. While allegations
in this book must be taken with a pinch of salt, its contents must be seriously
analyzed. Since the 2018 elections, a dark cloud of doubt and suspicion has
engulfed our electoral democracy. A basic survey among citizens notes deep-seated problems of mistrust and suspicion by citizens over the inability of ZEC
to preside over a free and fair election that meets international standards.
Enter March 2022 By-Elections!
The run-up to the
elections was marred by a lot of inconsistencies on the part of ZEC. Electoral
advocacy group Pachedu noted a lot of inconsistencies within the voters' roll
that was to be used for the by-elections. In some instances, ZEC had either
changed addresses or polling stations for some voters. On the day of the by-election, many voters failed to vote because their names were not on the voters' roll.
This is besides that in the 2018 general elections, they managed to vote. Added
to this, the by-elections were also marred by widespread violations of the
Electoral Act mostly by the ruling party, ZANU PF. In Chivi South, for example,
ZANU PF campaign vehicles were roving around polling stations soliciting votes
on the day of the election. This violates Sections 160A (G, K) and 160A (7)(1e)
of the Electoral Act.
Attempts by the newly
formed Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) Secretary-General, Charlton Hwende to
get a voters roll earlier before the day of the by-election hit a snag as he
was violently stopped by armed riot police from accessing ZEC offices in Harare.
Against all the numerous anomalies raised by Pachedu, ZEC did very little to
restore public confidence but proceeded with the by-election. True to what
Pachedu noted around irregularities and inconsistencies with the voters roll,
many people across constituencies were turned away and failed to exercise their
right to vote.
The recent by-election has
put the final death nail on our electoral democracy and on the ability of ZEC
to preside over free and fair elections. In Epworth constituency where I was an
observer, many people who were turned away had proof that they were registered
and voted in the 2018 general elections. Some even went a step further by utilizing
the mobile ZEC platform for registration to check if they were registered.
2023
Elections
Disbanding ZEC is
tantamount to rewriting the constitution. Given that we are just a few months
to go before the next election, it will be premature to call for the
disbandment of ZEC. One of the key reforms that opposition parties have been
pushing for over the years is the Diaspora vote. While ZANU PF and ZEC have been
unrelenting on this, the opposition must restrategize. In my view; they need to
redefine the “Diaspora” target citizens in neighbouring countries such as South
Africa, Botswana, and Namibia. Citizens in these countries stand a better chance
of voting in next years’ election. It is estimated that over 2 million
Zimbabweans reside in South Africa. For the opposition, it then becomes
imperative to think around modalities on how these people can be registered to
vote in the 2023 general elections. Although this has its own challenges the fact that some political parties have branches or structures in some of
these countries makes it even easier.
In the final analysis, ZEC
has failed to inspire confidence even in a new set of voters on the horizon.
The way it administered the March by-elections and the inconsistencies in the
voters' roll have eroded citizens’ confidence. The 2023 elections will be
nothing different.
Homeland or Death, Tinofa
Tichienda!
Rawlings
Magede is a Development Practitioner, who writes here in his personal capacity.
He tweets @rawmagede and is contactable on vamagede@gmail.com
