Electoral Amendment Act explained

Calvin Manika

Earlier this year, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said Zimbabwe’s Parliament will urgently consider an Electoral Amendment Bill which has been drafted for use in general elections due between July and the August this year.

“The Bill should be passed before the Proclamation of Elections —  that is the setting of election dates by the State President,” said Ziyambi.

However speaking in Binga on Saturday, President Mnangagwa said he will proclaim the election date monday and the Bill has not yet been passed.

Cabinet approved the framework of the Electoral Amendment Bill in October 2022, outlining its major objectives. According to Cabinet, the purpose of the Bill is to ensure that only citizens are able to vote in the elections, proper candidates are allowed to contest elections and to provide clarity on when and how candidates can withdraw from elections so that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has sufficient time to change the design of the ballot papers and advise the electorate of their withdrawal.

The bill proposed that voters are now required to produce a valid passport or National identity card as proof of identity before they register to vote. A Driver’s license will be accepted as a valid identity card.

“The Bill seeks to amend the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13) to provide for the timeframe within which national assembly and local authority candidates can withdraw from contesting in an election. The bill will also provide for the incorporation of the 30 percent women quota as well as the youth quota and the amendment of the definition of proof of identity,” reads the bill.

Legislators from the main opposition Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) movement proposed further amendments to the bill. CCC’s Charlton Hwende said ZEC should provide every polling agent with a voters’ roll bearing pictures of all registered voters in order to validate their identities

“Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) must ensure that, for at least two months after the announcement of the result of an election, all voting returns are kept open for inspection by members of the public at all reasonable times, and to provide copies upon payment of prescribed fees,” said Hwende.

“ZEC must be compelled to call for a competitive tender to print ballot papers and all related electoral material, including the procurement of indelible ink, and the supply of ballot boxes,” added Innocent Gonese, a member of parliament during the debate. 

The Bill needs a simple majority to be passed by Parliament. The ruling ZANU-PF party has a comfortable majority of 180 seats in the National Assembly while the combined opposition has 90 members.

In a weekly session hosted by the office of the Hwange Central MP Daniel Molokele, the member of parliament interacted with the coal mining town residents and constituents to explain the bill. Molekele said Electoral Act Amendment Bill is triggered by the Second Amendment Bill on the Constitution which was enacted by the parliament.

“As a result, the Electoral Act now needs to be updated to be made more compliant with the relevant constitutional amendments. Just in time for the 2023 harmonised elections. The amendment bill is a direct response to the changes that were enacted by the second amendment to the national constitution in 2021. It is mostly to adapt to the recent changes to the national constitution,” explained Molokele.

Hwange residents were keen to understand the key proposed changes to the original act. In 2021 Zimbabwe amended its 2013 constitution for the second time in 8 years. The amendment bill of 2021 was on the national Constitution. This has then forced the amendments to the Electoral Act to effect the constitutional amendments.

“Firstly the Bill will extend the special women’s quota for the National Assembly by another ten years. Secondly the bill seeks to remove driver’s licence as an acceptable proof of identity since it does not prove citizenship. Thirdly, the bill seeks to formally recognise the youth quota in the national Assembly as introduced by the second amendment bill of our national constitution in 2021.”

 “Fourthly the bill seeks to formally recognise the 30% women’s quota in both the provincial and local council as introduced by the second amendment bill to our national constitution. Fifthly. The bill seeks to introduce a mandatory 21-day deadline for any candidate to withdraw from the elections. Currently only the presidential election had such a provision. Now it will apply to all other types of candidates,” said Molokele. 

Some civil society organizations are not happy with the Bill. The political parties are also divided. However, the ruling party seems to support the Bill. The main opposition party CCC has raised several concerns against the bill saying it falls far short in helping to enforce the electoral reform to ensure that there are free and fair elections in Zimbabwe.

According to Molekele, the amendment bill falls far short of democratic expectations. One area of concern is with regards to the Diaspora vote. The legislator thinks Zimbabwe must introduce the Diaspora vote initially for the presidential election which is not Constituency based. 

“We could start with a few Zimbabwean embassies across the Diaspora. All other SADC countries now have the Diaspora vote; Zimbabwe has now been left behind. Unfortunately, it is totally silent. Definitely one of my frustrations about the amendment bill,” lamented Molokele.

Hwange residents expressed their unhappiness at the approach taken by parliament on such important bills as they were not consulted. The laws of Zimbabwe guided by the constitution allows citizens to participate in parliamentary processes through various means including public hearings. Community Podium  established that for the electoral amendment bill, the traditional public hearings were not done. Parliament did some virtual sessions via zoom and some radio stations

“Unfortunately many citizens were practically excluded in the consultation process. I just feel like this bill is not a good one, I think I read somewhere and views by a few indicated that the bill does not ensure that the public media gives fair coverage to all political parties and does not introduce transparent procedures for the preparation and distribution of ballot papers,” said Monica Ncube, a resident in Lwendulu, Hwange.

The local legislator assured Hwange constituents that there was no need to panic as the amendment is still a bill and promised to fight for the changes.