CCC presses Zec for reforms

Grace Moyo

Citizens Coalition for Change has expressed frustration at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s reluctance to institute administrative reforms that do not need Acts of  Parliament to be implemented.

Addressing a press conference meant to encourage supporters to participate in the voter inspection exercise that began Saturday, party Deputy Secretary for Elections Ellen Shiriyedenga said CCC is not asking for anything new but for laws to be realligned with the 2013 constitution.

She took a swipe at Zec’s intrasigence and reluctance to exercise its authority.

“There are some reforms that do not need an Act of Parliament to be implemented. These are what we call administrative reforms which are within the purview of Zec. The reforms are meant to land credibility to the electoral process, for example we talk about issues around results management. Even the Motlante Commission spoke to the issue of Zec’s need to adopt ICT systems that will ensure that results are expedited so that we avoid a situation like August 1 where people got killed while protesting against delayed result announcement. Again issues like, assisted voters do not need an electoral Act. They are administrative issues that Zec can handle,” she said.

Zec chairperson, Priscilla Chigumba is on record saying parties should go to parliament for any reforms.

Shiriyedenga said the electoral body’s opaqueness and refusal to release the voters roll has hampered its CCC’s plans in terms of identifying areas where it should concentrate its efforts on registering eligible citizens.

“In March this year, there was a voter registration blitz and we took up the opportunity and mobilized citizens. We were told that 5.8 million people were in voters roll then. The sad part is that to date, we still do not know how many people were registered during the march registration. There is no offficial communication from Zec in teems of the number of people registered during the blitz. That data would have been utilised to ascertain areas that had underegistered eligible citizens. Because there is a void in terms of that information, we are not able to tell which areas need more attention,” said Shiriyedenga while addressing a press briefing on the upcoming Voters’ Roll inspection process which starts on Saturday.

She also stressed that there should be no obscurity in terms of election data and that the voters roll is a public document and should be at the disposal of all citizens of Zimbabwe.

Shiriyedenga revealed that CCC is engaging Zec on a litany of anomalies arising from the delimitation.

“We are receiving reports from citizens which we will be referring to ZEC for redress. For example, we have people in Ward 18 of Harare who were under Harare North before delimitation and are supposed to be in Harare East post-delimitation. However, when they check their details on the online, the system shows they are still in Harare North. We have received numerous such querries.”

“And also we have had instances for example in Bulawayo there are some wards that moved from ward 4 to ward 5 which is now under Bulawayo South, we have noted that about four of the affected polling stations they are not there in the listed voter inspection centres, so this is the kind of clarity that we kind of request from ZEC to say what has happened to those people that where in those respective polling stations because they might risk at the end of the day that there could be left out and come election day those people if they do not check their names at the moment they might risk having their names not being there on the voters roll,”  she said.

CCC contends that if Zec is able to conduct voter inspection, it means the voters roll is available.

“We continue to implore Zec to avail the voters roll in accordance with the constitution and should be given to any person who pays the required money. One should have an option to obtain a soft copy or printed copy. There is still no acccess to the voters roll. 

“The voters roll is like a syllabus. If you go to an exam having not seen the syllabus, you are bound to find surprises on election day. We need and it should be verifiable and analysable. It is basic data that should be available to everyone.”

Citing the example of Kenya’s recent election where the electoral body allowed for an independent auditor to audit the voters roll, Shiriyedenga argued Zec should do the same for transparency purposes.

Turning to Zec’s nomination fees for candidates, the opposition wants them  reviewed downwards 

“When we did our calculations, we realised that we need around USD$ 244 000 to just field candidates all over the country. That is unsustainable. We are supposed to be a multiparty democracy and if as parties, we are not able to field candidates throughout the country, then we cease to be a multiparty democracy.

Our constitution says every citizen has a right to vote and be voted for. If I don’t have the $20 000 nomination fee, I cannot contest and that is an infringement on my right to be voted for. We are calling on Zec to review the nomination fees.”

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi earlier this month said the high nomination fees for the elections this year will stand and told opposition parties to “stop wasting their time” complaining.

In August last year, Zec increased nomination fees for presidential candidates from US$1 000 to US$20 000 per candidate. It also increased nomination fees for aspiring MPs from US$50 to US$100. Candidates vying for Senate and council seats will be expected to fork out US$100.