News / Local
Zimbabwe at 36, 'time to give one man one vote a chance'
19 Apr 2016 at 07:23hrs | Views
Zimbabwe has been urged to give one man one vote chance as the country celebrate its 36 years of independence.
The Election Resource Centre (ERC) said it was joining fellow Zimbabweans in celebrating 36 years of Independence from colonial rule.
"The think-tank and advocacy institution on elections and democracy congratulates Zimbabweans for maintaining peace and stability and implores upon government and Zimbabweans in general to ensure such an environment of peace is maintained," reads its statement.
"Zimbabweans went to war to attain one man one vote in a democratic society were people vote freely thus one cannot talk of the values of the liberation struggle without mentioning the issue of the right to vote for every citizen as enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Section 67(3) (a). It is sad to note that despite attaining 36 years of black majority rule, the country is still far from having free, fair and credible elections although it was one of the main reasons for the liberation struggle."
The organisation said Government continues to disenfranchise millions of Zimbabweans in the diaspora, hospitals and prisons, a violation of the right to vote which is guaranteed in the Constitution.
"Our fallen heroes would turn in their graves if they were to realise that 36 years after Zimbabwe attained independence, there are still squabbles over electoral reform in particular voter registration and the voters' roll, independence of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), the right to vote, political environment among others, the very things they went to war to liberate Zimbabweans from to ensure a level playing field for free, fair and credible elections," said the organisation.
"The July 31 2013 harmonised elections basing on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU‘s) observations were characterised by limited resources, inadequate voter education, limited time frame for voter registration, polarised media coverage, unavailability of the voters roll to contesting parties and candidates, chaotic special voting, hate speech, among other irregularities."
The organization said during the run up to various by-elections, it noted intimidation, hate speech and biased media coverage, also noted by observers in 2013.
"This shows continued disregard for fundamental freedoms and values of the liberation struggle as enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe. In an effort to prevent future electoral irregularities, a constitutional making process preceded the 2013 election, however, three years on, Electoral Laws have not yet fully been aligned with the "new" Constitution," said ERC.
"The Constitution of Zimbabwe that was enacted into law in May 2013, is a big step towards electoral democracy but it is all on paper. In the spirit of total enjoyment of independence, the ERC calls upon the government and Parliament to expedite the process of aligning Electoral Laws with the Constitution of Zimbabwe ahead of the 2018 General Elections which are only two years away. The Constitution must be implemented in letter and spirit, if Zimbabwe is to ever hold undisputed elections."
The fruits of independence can only be realised through an electoral regime or framework that aspires to give meaning to the concept of the one man one vote which was fermented by the blood, tears and sweat of thousands of women and men who fought for the liberation of Zimbabwe. We should all hang our heads in collective shame that 36 years after independence, we are still to achieve one man one vote.
ERC said as the nation begin the 37th year of Independence and also bearing in mind the upcoming 2018 Harmonised Elections, ERC recommends that Section 133J of the Electoral Act must be enforced to ensure a peaceful electoral environment, polling specific voter registration must become national and continuous, voter education must not be restrictive and must be continuous and traditional leaders must not have a role to play in elections.
"In the absence of these above noted recommendations, "36 years celebrating our Independence and Democracy" is a fallacy," ERC said.
The Election Resource Centre (ERC) said it was joining fellow Zimbabweans in celebrating 36 years of Independence from colonial rule.
"The think-tank and advocacy institution on elections and democracy congratulates Zimbabweans for maintaining peace and stability and implores upon government and Zimbabweans in general to ensure such an environment of peace is maintained," reads its statement.
"Zimbabweans went to war to attain one man one vote in a democratic society were people vote freely thus one cannot talk of the values of the liberation struggle without mentioning the issue of the right to vote for every citizen as enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Section 67(3) (a). It is sad to note that despite attaining 36 years of black majority rule, the country is still far from having free, fair and credible elections although it was one of the main reasons for the liberation struggle."
The organisation said Government continues to disenfranchise millions of Zimbabweans in the diaspora, hospitals and prisons, a violation of the right to vote which is guaranteed in the Constitution.
"Our fallen heroes would turn in their graves if they were to realise that 36 years after Zimbabwe attained independence, there are still squabbles over electoral reform in particular voter registration and the voters' roll, independence of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), the right to vote, political environment among others, the very things they went to war to liberate Zimbabweans from to ensure a level playing field for free, fair and credible elections," said the organisation.
The organization said during the run up to various by-elections, it noted intimidation, hate speech and biased media coverage, also noted by observers in 2013.
"This shows continued disregard for fundamental freedoms and values of the liberation struggle as enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe. In an effort to prevent future electoral irregularities, a constitutional making process preceded the 2013 election, however, three years on, Electoral Laws have not yet fully been aligned with the "new" Constitution," said ERC.
"The Constitution of Zimbabwe that was enacted into law in May 2013, is a big step towards electoral democracy but it is all on paper. In the spirit of total enjoyment of independence, the ERC calls upon the government and Parliament to expedite the process of aligning Electoral Laws with the Constitution of Zimbabwe ahead of the 2018 General Elections which are only two years away. The Constitution must be implemented in letter and spirit, if Zimbabwe is to ever hold undisputed elections."
The fruits of independence can only be realised through an electoral regime or framework that aspires to give meaning to the concept of the one man one vote which was fermented by the blood, tears and sweat of thousands of women and men who fought for the liberation of Zimbabwe. We should all hang our heads in collective shame that 36 years after independence, we are still to achieve one man one vote.
ERC said as the nation begin the 37th year of Independence and also bearing in mind the upcoming 2018 Harmonised Elections, ERC recommends that Section 133J of the Electoral Act must be enforced to ensure a peaceful electoral environment, polling specific voter registration must become national and continuous, voter education must not be restrictive and must be continuous and traditional leaders must not have a role to play in elections.
"In the absence of these above noted recommendations, "36 years celebrating our Independence and Democracy" is a fallacy," ERC said.
Source - Byo24News
