ZEC shuts door on political parties

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) yesterday said it will not allow any political party to be directly involved in the national mapping exercise being carried out by the electoral body.

Various political parties have been demanding that they be involved in the mapping exercise that will see voters being restricted to voting at one polling station.

The national mapping exercise, which ends on November 30, is meant to identify households that will fall under an identified polling station in a ward. ZEC chairperson Justice Rita Makarau told political parties during an engagement meeting that they had no constitutional mandate to be involved in the demarcation exercise.

The national mapping exercise will also eliminate the possibility of double voting. The exercise is part of the reforms that ZEC wants to introduce as the country prepares for the 2018 general elections. The idea of a polling station-based voters' roll will see a voter casting a ballot at a specific polling station at which his or her name appears on the roll.

This is a departure from the current system whereby voters are free to cast their vote at any polling station within their wards. Justice Makarau said political parties were free to criticise ZEC processes.

The political parties demanded that Justice Makarau issue a statement denouncing the police for "disrupting" their rallies.

Justice Makarau said ZEC would continue engaging the political parties together with faith-based organisations and the civic society for them to have an appreciation of the work being done by the electoral body.