ZBC bias flimsy to push me out: Mtambanengwe

Retired High Court judge Simpson Mtambanengwe says efforts to frustrate him and damage his reputation as chairman of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) will not deter him from discharging his duties as the boss.

The national broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), has, through a series of broadcsts, accused Justice Mtambanengwe of attacking war veterans for terrorising people in rural areas as part of the Zanu PF's terror campaign.

The allegation was that the ZEC boss told a conference in Barcelona, Spain, that war veterans were causing terror in rural areas in bid to help Zanu PF emerge victorious in the next election through intimidation and fear.

Mtambanengwe, however, disputes the claims by the broadcaster, saying he and his delegation never made any statements nor or addressed the conference as they were invited as ordinary participants.

"I and my colleagues were invited and attended the said conference as ordinary participants who were not asked to present any statement whatsoever and we did not make any statement at all," he said.

For three days, ZBC ran stories denigrating the person and integrity of Mtambanengwe, relying on extensive quotes and soundbites from its usual analysts and representatives of war veterans.

In one of the broadcasts, persons claiming to be war veterans threatened to beseige his office and home and force him out of work.

The veterans said Mtambanengwe was illsuited for the post as he was a supporter of the MDC. The pressure on the ZEC chief stoked fears that Zanu PF is now baying for his blood.

The MDC shall never entertain such shameless tactics and would like to urge Zimbabweans and SADC to allow Justice Mtambanengwe and his commission to perform their professional duties and responsibilities without undue Zanu PF intimidation and interference, said Hon Douglas Mwonzora, the MDC spokesperson.

Another report, aired separately charged the ZEC board of breaching government protocol when he allegedly met the South African mediation team last week. Details of the alleged meetings with the SADC facilitation teams were never made public, even by the ZBC.

Mtambanengwe said he did not know how the statements attributed to him had come about, arguing that he only learnt about them when he was "accosted" by two journalists from the ZBC for an interview on the subject.

"I was having coffee at the Rainbow Towers Hotel when two young men who claimed to be from the ZBC appeared and accosted me for an interview.

"I asked them who the source of the story they wanted to talk to me about was and they failed to provide me with the details.

"I asked them to make arrangements with my secretary for an interview and that was the last time I saw them. They did not return," said a visibly angry Mtambanengwe. He said he would remain resolute as he had done in the past when faced with situations that required resilience.

Responding to a question during a press conference last week on his continued occupation of the electoral commission's office in the face of repeated efforts by Zanu PF activists to tarnish his image, Mtambanengwe said his life had been punctuated with a lot of serious challenges and the latest "side show" would not deter him from carrying out his duties.

"I was appointed to this position (ZEC chairman) and had work to do when I was appointed, which I still have to this day.

"I will do that which I was appointed to do and these other things are not going to affect the way I do my work," he declared.

He declared earlier this year that the electoral commission was not ready to host an election this year, contrary to Zanu-PF's position.

Mtambanengwe said ZEC was too broke to put in place structures that would ensure that the country held a free, fair and successful election.

The attack on Mtambanengwe came after ZEC demanded the voters' roll from Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede's office to clean it up, indicating that Zimbabwe is headed for elections soon.

Commission chairman Justice Simpson Mutambanengwe told the Daily News on Wednesday that ZEC was unhappy with the state of the voting register and is calling for a new mechanism and approach to make it better.

"We are in discussion with the Registrar- General about the need to clean the voters' roll and how it is going to be done still remains to be worked out.

"There are also a lot of people who no longer qualify as citizens who must be removed from the voters roll as they stayed 12 months outside the country. This mainly affects people in the diaspora.

"Whether we use the present roll or start on a clean fresh registration is still to be decided but we have agreed that we need to clean it up. This is important in any election whether we have a new constitution or old constitution, we still need a voters' roll that is acceptable to the electorate."

"It is not a secret that the voters' roll has a number of dead voters that must be removed and the ZEC team wants the voters roll to be upgraded and cleaned so that it can be ready for use in the referendum to be held after the completion of the constitutional making process currently underway," Justice Mutambanengwe said.

ZEC is one of the commissions set up by the inclusive government as a critical organ in the running of a credible election following the dismantling of the electoral commission led by Justice George Chiweshe which delayed releasing the presidential election results in March 2008.

Mutambanengwe, a retired judge from Zimbabwe and Namibia's Supreme Court said he wanted to help Zimbabwe deliver a credible election accepted by everyone.

"The commission is ready and willing to carry out its constitutional mandate of delivering free and fair elections that should not be disputed by anyone," he said He said his office was willing to work with the public and political parties if they wanted access to the voters roll.