News / National
Special vote flawed, says Chinamasa
19 Jul 2013 at 04:00hrs | Views
Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa has said the special vote is a flawed polling mechanism and Zanu-PF will remove it from the country's statutes if elected into Government on 31 July.
Minister Chinamasa said the negotiators in the inclusive Government should take the blame after they agreed to include the mechanism through amendments to the Electoral Act last year. "All in all I think that Zec did well in the circumstances," said Minister Chinamasa.
Before the adoption of the Special Vote, members of the police and other uniformed forces involved in security operations during the elections would vote through the Postal Vote but the MDC formations challenged its transparency.
Members of the forces voted on Sunday and Monday under the Special Vote but only 29 000 people out of the 69 000 that had been approved to vote were able to cast their ballots.
The process was marred by late delivery or non-delivery of ballots at most centres. Under the Special Vote the eligible members cast their ballots at the various places they are stationed.
The ballots will then be transmitted to the areas that they registered in and will be counted together with those that will be cast on 31 July.
Minister Chinamasa also raised concern in the manner the printers awarded the tender to print the ballots acted.
"There are a number of factors that are attributed to the situation that developed (on Sunday and Monday) and one of these is that of the companies (Fidelity Printers and Printflow) that were awarded the tenders to print the ballots," he said.
The Minister said it was difficult to understand that companies which printed the ballots in 2008 were unable to do so for only 69 000 voters.
Minister Chinamasa said the negotiators in the inclusive Government should take the blame after they agreed to include the mechanism through amendments to the Electoral Act last year. "All in all I think that Zec did well in the circumstances," said Minister Chinamasa.
Before the adoption of the Special Vote, members of the police and other uniformed forces involved in security operations during the elections would vote through the Postal Vote but the MDC formations challenged its transparency.
Members of the forces voted on Sunday and Monday under the Special Vote but only 29 000 people out of the 69 000 that had been approved to vote were able to cast their ballots.
The process was marred by late delivery or non-delivery of ballots at most centres. Under the Special Vote the eligible members cast their ballots at the various places they are stationed.
The ballots will then be transmitted to the areas that they registered in and will be counted together with those that will be cast on 31 July.
Minister Chinamasa also raised concern in the manner the printers awarded the tender to print the ballots acted.
"There are a number of factors that are attributed to the situation that developed (on Sunday and Monday) and one of these is that of the companies (Fidelity Printers and Printflow) that were awarded the tenders to print the ballots," he said.
The Minister said it was difficult to understand that companies which printed the ballots in 2008 were unable to do so for only 69 000 voters.
Source - herald
