Electoral Amendment Bill an opportunity for democratic transition

The debate that is at the epicenter in the corridors of power in Zimbabwe is the promulgation of the Electoral Amendment Bill. The Bill focuses on slightly amending the current Electoral Act of Zimbabwe. Such amendments are built on the premise of ensuring that Zimbabwe manages to hold undisputed, democratic, free and fair elections. If such objectives are accomplished, these stand to present a huge milestone in the political discourse in Zimbabwe.

The Bill presents a total of sixteen (16) amendments. These include but are not limited to, voter registration and the voters roll, voter education, voting processes, media coverage of elections, police force, independence of the electoral commission and politically motivated violence. These and other issues make up the greater part of the amendments, which after debates have been done at constitutional level and parliament, stand to be endorsed as an Act before the forthcoming elections.

Key pronouncements that have been underlined in the Bill under the issue of voter registration and the voters roll are that there will be provisions of a printed and electronic version of the voters roll. Such a provision is noble in that easier access of the voters roll by the citizens promotes accountability and transparency which are the necessary ingredients for free and fair elections. However some CSOs such as ZESN have identified a weakness in the sharing of the responsibility for the voter's role between the commission and the Registrar General's office will leave room for inefficiencies and blame shifting between the two responsible bodies.  

Perhaps a recommendable pointer under the same issue is the fact that the Bill states that the rules for proof of identity and residence on voter registration are relaxed. This will therefore mean that, people especially youths that have been facing challenges in registering can produce such proof by any acceptable means.  Given the fact that the current voters roll is marred by so much malpractice such as the inclusion of deceased people and those below the legal age of majority, it is imperative that a new voter's roll be drawn up in line with the clauses in the new bill.

Another positive development in the Bill is that for the Presidential elections, results are to be announced within 5 days of the last polling date. This will avoid the repetition of the previous case where Zimbabweans were made to wait anxiously for a period as long as six weeks before the results were announced. This new clause will also increase the efficiency and credibility of the electoral process in Zimbabwe and also build public confidence and trust in the ballot.

On Voter Education the Electoral Amendment Bill further states that, "apart from the Commission, political parties or persons authorized to assist the Commission…satisfying the criteria…will be entitled to provide voter education in Zimbabwe". It should be noted that the provision still ensures that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission maintains its dominance over voter education in Zimbabwe. It becomes the call for pro-democratic forces to ensure that the Commission becomes transparent in its operations, selection criteria and exhibit independence. Voter education in all provinces of Zimbabwe especially in rural areas is a necessary prerequisite in ensuring that the citizens have adequate information on the electoral process. It is also imperative in ensuring that young people are also kept abreast with what transpires in Zimbabwe and are equipped with knowledge that will ensure that they positively participate in elections.

It is interesting to note that the Bill seeks to address issues of politically motivated violence and intimidation and places political parties and candidates contesting in elections as the main drivers to preventing such disparities in the pre and post election periods. Young people become the hardest hit as they will be at the centre of abuse by political players as victims and perpetrators of politically motivated violence. As such, there is need to avoid such recurrences in future.

However the fact that the bill provides for polling station based voting may not necessarily be a noble idea. Of course this will curb dual voting but at the same time it creates targeting of the electorate by candidates. Those that know some areas not to be their strongholds can disperse the voters as much as they can a day or so before the election, making sure that very few of their opponents get an opportunity to vote.  

It is evident that the Bill amongst other things offers a necessary bridge for the democratic transition of the nation. It therefore remains critical that measures be taken to ensure its full implementation. The role of the youths in this Bill becomes surmountable, in that they can input on it in the parliamentary constitutional outreach meetings. Also, through their interaction with their members of parliament they can critique and input into it at length.