Electoral reforms are very important ahead of 2018 elections

MDC-T spokesperson Obert Gutu has emphasised on the importance of the electoral reforms ahead of the 2018 elections indicating that they are as important as the coalitions being mapped by the opposition political parties.

He said their pursuit of a formidable political coalition should never, ever eclipse and obliterate their pursuit for electoral reforms.

"If you ask me, electoral reforms are just as important and fundamental as the formation of a formidable and focused coalition to face the Zanu-PF regime in Election 2018. There is absolutely no point in securing a coalition and failing to make sure that electoral reforms are put in place to ensure that next year's plebiscite is free and fair and that it will produce a credible result that is beyond contestation. That should be the bottom line," Gutu said.

"If I may ask, on its own, can a strong coalition succeed in dislodging the deeply entrenched Zanu-PF dictatorship from power in a situation where the electoral playing field remains uneven? Thus, the issue of electoral reforms is at the very epicentre of a free and fair election."

He said the public media (effectively the Zanu-PF - controlled print and electronic media) should be opened up to all political parties.

"As such the ZBC radio stations, as well as ZTV, should grant equal and unfettered access to all political players and not just to Zanu-PF; traditional leaders should not be forced and commandeered to operate as Zanu-PF political commissars in their respective areas. Put simply, traditional leaders should be apolitical," he said.

"Food aid should not be used as a vote - buying tool. All citizens who are in need of food aid, regardless of their political affiliation, should be given access to food aid. Presently, the Zanu-PF regime is denying food aid to known and perceived opposition political parties' supporters, mainly in rural and peri - urban areas; the allocation of residential stands in urban and peri - urban areas should not be politicised.Presently, the Zanu-PF regime is on a concerted drive to allocate both serviced and unserviced residential stands only to Zanu-PF supporters."

He said the allocation of farming land under the land reform program should not be politicised.

"Presently, opposition political party supporters are discriminated against when they apply for agricultural land. People are forced to produce a Zanu-PF party card and to attend Zanu-PF rallies and meetings if they want to be allocated farmland, members of the security services (the Zimbabwe National Army, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the Central Intelligence Organisation, the Zimbabwe Prison & Correctional Services) should be apolitical and they should not be allowed to operate as Zanu-PF political activists and commissars," he said.

"The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) should be totally independent and capacitated to run a free and fair election. State security agents who currently form the bulk of the ZEC secretariat should be immediately removed, the ZEC should be adequately funded in order to finance all its operations. ZEC should get a separate allocation of funds from Treasury instead of the commission being treated as a department within the Ministry of Justice & Parliamentary Affairs."

He said in the prevailing toxic and uneven political operating environment, not even the strongest of coalitions can successfully dislodge the Zanu-PF dictatorship from power.