Zec distances self from Zanu PF

By Sharon Buwerimwe | Mar. 17, 2023 | 2 Min read

Zec deputy chairperson Rodney Simukai Kiwa

THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has claimed that it is not working with the ruling Zanu PF party to tilt the elections in its favour as this would affect its integrity as an independent body.

Zimbabwe expects to hold general elections in August this year.

Stakeholders have been complaining over lack of transparency by Zec on important processes like delimitation of constituency boundaries.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa is yet to proclaim dates for the elections.

In the past elections, Zec was accused of being captured by the ruling party and of working with the army to rig polls.

In a discussion with local media on Zec preparedness to manage this year’s elections on Wednesday, Zec deputy chairperson Rodney Simukai Kiwa said the commission does not support the ruling party.

“We are not supporting the ruling party; we would not allow that to happen because it will affect our integrity. It would be a disaster; the entire commission itself would not allow that to happen. In fact it’s just not possible to do that looking at how our system is set up, it’s impossible for it to interfere in our work, we continue to be independent, impartial and do what’s best for this country,” Kiwa said.

The Zec deputy chairperson also insisted that all recommendations that were raised in Parliament on the delimitation report were taken on board.

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“We don’t do delimitation with individuals in mind. We follow the principles. We managed to respond to all the questions that were raised in Parliament. We made changes where the law allowed us to make the changes. All the mistakes were corrected and I can’t specifically state which one.

“Where it was not legally possible to make the changes, we explained to the public. We also explained how we calculated the boundaries for transparency reasons. We want our elections to be credible,” he said.

The electoral body further said it was going to ensure that all votes matter.

“Voting is a continuous process. We are there to ensure that voters exercise their rights. We are not there to frustrate them, I repeat. We have already embarked on a voter registration exercise.”

Zec’s delimitation report, and its voter registration blitzes have been criticised for serving the ruling Zanu PF party’s interests.