ACCUSATIONS of an uneven electoral process have cast a shadow over the Zimbabwe Chess Federation (ZCF) elections, scheduled for October 12 at Joina City, Harare, with some stakeholders calling for the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) to intervene.
In a letter gleaned by NewsDay Sport, affiliates and stakeholders expressed concerns over the upcoming plebiscite, citing inadequate time for campaigning and a lack of transparency.
They want the election to be postponed, raising issues such as the federation’s failure to release an audited voters’ roll, which they claim has been made available only to select board members.
The affiliates also allege that the ZCF plans to conduct the elections using an outdated old constitution.
“The federation has not provided adequate time for candidates to prepare and share their blueprints with affiliates. They have also failed to disclose the presiding officers for the election,” part of the letter of complaint read.
Concerns were raised about the annual general meeting (AGM), also scheduled for October 12, from 10am to 12 midday.
Some argue that the two hour slot is not enough to exhaust the seven items on the agenda.
They also pointed out that the names of the candidates running for ZCF president have not been shared, preventing proper preparation and presentation of manifestos.
However, ZCF secretary-general Todd Mapingire dismissed the complaints, saying they had no legal standing.
“It’s important to note that Lloyd Moyo, the author of the email, is not an affiliate of ZCF, so he has no legal standing to write any communication as an affiliate,” Mapingire said.
“ZCF has not received any formal complaints yet from any of its paid-up bona fide affiliate members. Stakeholders are defined in the constitution under section 6, which defines membership as affiliated members of the federation.
“It’s perplexing though that a non-affiliate would write a letter complaining about a sports body he or she is not or no longer a member. Membership of ZCF is not infinite, it’s maintained on an annual basis.”
On the issue of the constitution, Mapingire said there is no new constitution yet, although a draft was circulated some time ago.
“Any constitutional amendments or adoption must be approved by a vote at the AGM,” he explained.
“The AGM is constitutionally due and elections are just one of the seven items on the agenda. We decided to combine the AGM with the elections to avoid the cost of convening affiliates from all over the country twice.
“You cannot hold an AGM under a constitution that has not been approved. We’ve provided affiliates with 22 days’ notice — almost double the required 14 days — and the election timeline has been clear for five years.”
Regarding candidates, Mapingire confirmed that any executive member running for office would step aside to allow time for campaigning.
He also pointed out that affiliates could call for a special general meeting if they felt the need to address concerns before the AGM.
“If the sentiments in the complaint were pervasive, affiliates could easily overcome this hurdle and call for a special meeting to postpone the elections or discuss any issues,” he said.
Mapingire also noted that the current ZCF president is not seeking re-election, having announced his retirement over a year ago.
Responding to allegations of leveraging his position to influence the upcoming elections, the ZCF secretary-general insisted that he has not declared any intention to run for the presidency.
“I have not declared at any forum that I want to run for presidency. The authority of the current executive is with the president and I am an appointee. Anything I do is for the benefit of the federation on a voluntary basis,” he said.
“If any executive member is nominated and they accept the nomination as a candidate, they will automatically step aside to accord them time to campaign and sell their manifesto to the affiliated members.”
On complaints regarding that voters roll has not been made accessible before the elections to improve transparency, Mapingire said ZCF will release the affiliate database by October 1, a few days before the October 12 elections.
“The affiliate’s database will be available from the October 1 and will be shared with affiliates. We extended the deadline to accommodate those who were once affiliates to come back and new affiliates time to register before September 28, 2024 and participate in the AGM. Collectivity is key in running Chess in Zimbabwe as it is a voluntary job,” he said.
“The board shall issue guidance using the Zimbabwe Constitution and common law principles on how the election will be held. The current ZCF constitution is silent on many pertinent matters. When a constitution is silent we revert to the law of the land for a minimum standard. We are confident we have done this.”
Addressing calls for a postponement of the elections, as outlined in the letter to the SRC, to allow for better preparation, Mapingire said: “A postponement can only be considered for legitimate logistical challenges or a matter of law. Feelings and opinions are many and varied and it is difficult to please everyone.”
