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Photo: The Norm
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission President Priscilla Chigumba.
Analysis
By Alex T. Magaisa
In his actions and his responses to legitimate concerns, the ZEC failed to inspire days of trust before the elections.
As Zimbabwe approaches the general election on July 30, a worrying trend has emerged that those who ask questions about the process are seen as the problem. Rather than asking legitimate questions about the credibility of the vote, their concerns are trivialized and ridiculed. Those who are worried about news of irregularities and lack of transparency are being told that they are complaining too much.
But are they right to worry? Let's look at some of these concerns and try to understand why the opposition feels aggrieved.
1) Voters Vote
Questions about Zimbabwe elections began when the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) failed to provide the initial voters list road map. This gap has raised eyebrows among the opposition and with good reason. In the 2013 elections, the electoral authority failed to broadcast an electronic copy of the voters lists and there were concerns that it would not be enough again.
The ZEC only gave in after a big outcry. But even then, the process of making public the role of voters was not without problems. There was a tumult after a foreign embassy announced that she had received the role before the parties in the running. It then took days for the main opposition of the MDC Alliance to finally have access to the electoral rolls, well after ZANU-PF in power. Moreover, when the information arrived, it was incomplete. The regulations adopted after the new biometric voter registration process require the Voter List to include photographs, but the ZEC has refused to comply with its own rules, selectively invoking privacy provisions [19659011]. there were serious anomalies in the voters' chart, he rejected their concerns. One commissioner ignored their findings, saying that ZEC had a different voter board that was "almost perfect". But if this is true, does that mean that the electoral authority deliberately cheated the parties when it gave them the first round of elections?
After the 2013 scandal, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had the opportunity to demonstrate a different approach. the role of voters left a lot to be desired. ZEC wants to be considered a strict follower of the law, but ignored or bypassed the rules when it suited them and – in the eyes of the opposition – the party in power. It may not be a coincidence that the MDC is the biggest critic of the ZEC when the main defender of the electorate is ZANU-PF
2) Ballots
Another Controversy concerns the design and printing of ballot papers. were kept opaque. Some people think that these things are not important. The position of a candidate on a ballot will not change who people vote for, they argue, and they may be right. But this is not the subject of the dispute.
The ZEC did not respect the law. In addition, he did so in a manner that, according to the opposition, benefits President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Many believe that there has been a deliberate effort to ensure that the incumbent's name occupies a larger place on the ballot than in the single-column alphabetical system required by law. If these rules were followed, Mnangagwa would appear amid a stale list of 23 candidates. In fact, the poll has two columns, with the president at the very top of the second
The noise on the design of the ballot is an insult to Zimbabwe's high literacy rate.
vote for Chamisa he will vote for him regardless of whether ED is at the top unless you say that our people can not read @matigary @Mavhure @TrevorNcube pic.twitter.com/Gjvfw4aQjL
– Tanaka ( Fitz) (@Duke_fitz July 19, 2018
ZEC has also made it incredibly difficult for observers to attend the printing of newspapers.The complaints of the opposition on this subject have been taken up by European and local observers.If ZEC had nothing to hide, there would be nothing to lose by allowing the parties to observe the process.On the contrary, its opacity did not to exacerbate existing fears
3) Defend falsehoods
Last month, a photo of ZEC President Priscilla Chigumba wore the famous ZANU-PF scarf strongly associated with President Mnangagwa. This would have contravened section 11 (3) (c) of the Elections Act – which prohibits a commissioner from "knowingly wearing [ing] a badge or garment that is or is likely to be associated with a political party or contestant contesting election "- but Chigumba claimed that the photo had been taken before his nomination in February. However, evidence has shown that the photo was taken after she became president of the ZEC
Evidence that Chigumba is lying about wearing ED Scarf before being the president of the ZEC https: //t.co/rjRVmaVZ4d
Post made by the designer of the scarf on February 5, 2018 clearly identifies #Chigumba as ZEC president recently named # ZimElections2018 # ZimDecides2018 #ElectionsZW pic.twitter.com/38pbqqYuI2
– Povo Zim (@povozim) July 17, 2018 [19659025] This was not all, and perhaps not even the most disturbing aspect of this story. When the photo first appeared, the ZEC commissioner, Dr Qhubani Moyo, dismissed it as a false image. When it turned out he was wrong, not only did he show no remorse, but Chigumba publicly defended him on the radio.
If ZEC commissioners can peddle falsehoods and defend themselves, how can the electorate trust them in the electoral process? ? What else are they lying about?
4) ZEC's derogatory responses
A final source of concern is that when the opposition has filed a complaint to date, the ZEC and its commissioners have generally responded in a derogatory manner. The election umpire must stay on top of the fray and keep control of the process. He should not engage in a contradictory battle with one of the parties.
At the same time, opposition supporters should soften the abusive language that some have used. This does not help their arguments and only widens their distance to the electoral authority.
Everything could have been simple. The president of the ZEC admitted that most Zimbabweans do not trust the institution she runs. She acknowledged that regaining that trust is a process. With this in mind, the commission could have been open-minded about the role of voters by committing to make changes if anomalies were identified. He could have easily opened his doors when it came to designing and printing ballots. He could have excused himself and retracted false statements made during the incident of the scarf.
Instead, ZEC was arrogant and dismissive. This is not so that an administrative body with such an important national mandate should behave
This is a version of an article originally published at BIGSR
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