Legislator demands transparency in ballot material production

Binga North legislator Prince Dubeko Sibanda has demanded that the government be transparent on the company contracted to produce ballot material ahead of this year's elections.

"I hope that this law will deal with transparency in the production of ballot materials. If indeed we want to run a free and fair election, let us be open to everyone and say this is where we want to produce our ballot papers. They should not remain the preserve and secret of one political party. We should do that in a transparent manner so that when we go to the ballots, we will not have these mysterious statements about an X being put there and then suddenly appearing on another political party," he said.

"For us to beat these mysterious allegations, we need to ensure that the law provides for a transparent production of ballot papers so that all parties are happy to say we know where the ballot papers were produced and definitely that these ballot papers are as they appear when it comes to the election day."

"Let me qualify. If we were to follow on the promises that were given by President Emmerson Mnangagwa during his times of coming into power, he assured Zimbabweans that he will try to govern in a transparent manner that favours every Zimbabwean. Therefore, as we are heading for elections, I anticipated that the law will emphasise that the amount of coverage that is given to one political party, whether that party is small or big, in Government or not, it should be fair and equal. There should be an element of equity."

"It is to give the Zimbabwean citizens a fair assessment, a platform upon which they can assess the leadership qualities of the various leaders who would want to assume the position of State President. There should not be an unfair advantage to one of the participants because the idea is not really about having a President headed by one or another political party but the idea is to have a Zimbabwean President who is going to adhere to the desires, the interests and future desires of Zimbabweans," he added.

He said so, in order for people to be able to do that, they should be able to say all these Zimbabwean leaders vying for various political offices should be given equal access to the media; the slots should be equal so that Zimbabweans can be able to compare them in their multiplicity of ideas and promises that they have.

"This is also so that Zimbabweans can be able to say; the promises that are coming from this leader are better than the promises coming from that other leader. Hon. Speaker, we do not want a scenario where 90% of media coverage is going to a certain individual, thereby giving that individual an unfair advantage over others. We need to ensure that the playing field is indeed level in all practical instances," he said.