LEGISLATORS have said that the preliminary delimitation report by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) was done without considering the recently released census report and demanded that it be returned for amendments by the electoral body.
The legislators also decried the fact that Zec had also failed to provide them with an electronic voter roll.
Zec chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba presented the preliminary delimitation report to President Emmerson Mnangagwa on December 26 last year who then brought it to Parliament on January 6 this year.
The delimitation report has since been analysed by Parliament’s ad-hoc committee and is now before the National Assembly where it is being further scrutinised and debated.
In its recommendations, the Parliamentary ad-hoc committee had said Zec should take into account the entire population as shown in the census, not just the adult population because wards serve other purposes apart from elections, and that Zec should revisit boundaries where it did not take account of community interests between voters.
Other recommendations by the ad-hoc committee included that Zec should ensure that there are equal number of voters in constituencies and wards, with variations limited to 20% as required by section 161 of the Constitution, and that Zec should apply consistent principles when transferring voters from constituencies and wards with large numbers of voters to those with fewer.
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Yesterday during debate of the Zec report in the National Assembly, Binga North legislator Prince Dubeko Sibanda (CCC) said: “The report is not a good one as some of the observations that were made by the ad hoc committee included that Zec did not consider the census report, which is able to indicate to the nation migration of citizens. Therefore, in the absence of the census report, it is very difficult to validate some of the findings; for example, Bulawayo province. When a census report is available, it becomes easy to compare the movement of citizens between areas.”
Warren Park Member of Parliament (MP) Shakespear Hamauswa (CCC) said: “This report did not consider the voters roll. It and the census report are very important in this process.”
Harare East legislator Tendai Biti (CCC) suggested that the delimitation report be taken back to Zec on the basis of the recommendations made by the Parliamentary ad hoc committee.
"The test of whether Zec did a good job was going to be measured on three issues, which include procedure when they were making the report, whether they followed the law, and whether the report is loyal to principles defined in section 161 of the Constitution. The three scores show that Zec failed to consider the final report of the census, and there is a co-relationship between the task of delimitation and the population. When you look at the Zec report, there is no marriage and there is no connection between the report and the population.”
Biti continued: “Zec failed to produce a copy of the voters roll and we are just told without validation that the total number of voters is this and that, and yet the actual voters roll has not been given. Zec failed to consult citizens and it failed procedural issues.”
Zanu PF legislators also declared that Zec had failed to carry out its duties diligently.
Buhera South MP Joseph Chinotimba (Zanu PF) said Zec must be run as an independent commission and must not follow the dictates of any political party.
“This time Zec has failed its duties,” Chinotimba said.
Makoni North MP James Munetsi (Zanu PF) added: “Zec did the report from what they know, and not from statistics. Therefore we cannot trust them to run an election.”
After both Houses debate the Zec delimitation report, the findings and recommendations by Parliament will be presented to Mnangagwa on Thursday.
Legal think-tank Veritas says if either House recommends that the delimitation report be referred back to Zec, Mnangagwa will have to send it back to Zec for reconsideration.
“He will have only one day to do so because section 161 (8) of the Constitution says that the report must be returned to Zec within 14 days after it was laid before Parliament.
“If, as seems likely, the report is referred back to Zec, the Commission will have to consider the issues raised by Parliament, in addition to any the President himself may raise, but Zec’s decision on them will be final. Then Zec will send its final delimitation report to the President and he will publish it as a proclamation in the Gazette,” Veritas said in its latest Bill Watch.
The deadline for publication of the delimitation report is February 26.