News / National
ZEC pledges credible elections
05 Jul 2017 at 13:24hrs | Views
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is doing everything within the new constitution to ensure that the 2018 harmonised elections are credible and peaceful.
This was said by ZEC Commissioner Qhubani Moyo at a workshop organised by the University of Zimbabwe Department of English and Media Studies in Harare this Wednesday.
The workshop, which focused on the role of the media in elections in a democratic dispensation, brought together students, academics, representatives of diplomatic missions, government representatives and UZ Vice Chancellor Professor Levi Nyagura.
From the time of the last elections in 2013, a lot of changes have occurred in Zimbabwe's electoral laws and some of the reforms should help in reducing doubts and misgivings among stakeholders.
Some of the changes include the way in which ZEC commissioners are appointed and the taking over of voter registration from the Registrar General's Office to ZEC and ward-based voting system.
In his presentation at the occasion, ZEC Commissioner Qhubani Moyo explained that there should not be misgivings about dead people in the voters roll as the new biometric voter registration which records the voters biological features like finger prints, eye and facial features will be used in the coming election.
He also highlighted that every voter will be registered at just one polling station of the district of his choice as opposed to the past when a voter's name would appear at every polling station in the whole ward, and such issues often gave rise to disputes.
Mr Moyo also categorically stated that it is not possible to have a voters roll without dead people but it is not permissible to allow the dead to vote.
Coming to the elections administration body itself, Mr Moyo explained that there is no room for inclusion of partisan members as parliament is also involved in the nomination of commissioners giving himself, a former MDC candidate, as an example of the transparency of the selection process.
Other speakers at the occasion included Professor Nyagura who emphasized that journalists should execute their constitutional mandate in a responsible manner to ensure continued peace and harmony among the people.
This was said by ZEC Commissioner Qhubani Moyo at a workshop organised by the University of Zimbabwe Department of English and Media Studies in Harare this Wednesday.
The workshop, which focused on the role of the media in elections in a democratic dispensation, brought together students, academics, representatives of diplomatic missions, government representatives and UZ Vice Chancellor Professor Levi Nyagura.
From the time of the last elections in 2013, a lot of changes have occurred in Zimbabwe's electoral laws and some of the reforms should help in reducing doubts and misgivings among stakeholders.
Some of the changes include the way in which ZEC commissioners are appointed and the taking over of voter registration from the Registrar General's Office to ZEC and ward-based voting system.
He also highlighted that every voter will be registered at just one polling station of the district of his choice as opposed to the past when a voter's name would appear at every polling station in the whole ward, and such issues often gave rise to disputes.
Mr Moyo also categorically stated that it is not possible to have a voters roll without dead people but it is not permissible to allow the dead to vote.
Coming to the elections administration body itself, Mr Moyo explained that there is no room for inclusion of partisan members as parliament is also involved in the nomination of commissioners giving himself, a former MDC candidate, as an example of the transparency of the selection process.
Other speakers at the occasion included Professor Nyagura who emphasized that journalists should execute their constitutional mandate in a responsible manner to ensure continued peace and harmony among the people.
Source - zbc
