Opposition reject govt proposal on BVR

Opposition political parties under CODE have vehemently rejected the proposal by government to take over of the Biometric Voters Role kits Procurement Process.

The political parties statement rejecting the move is captured below.

PRESS STATEMENT
Political Parties Reject Proposed Government Take-over of the BVR Kits Procurement Process

Recent statements from the media attributed to the Minister of Finance show that the government has decided to take over the procurement process of the Biometric Voter Registration kits from the UNDP. We are told that somehow miraculously the government has secured the money for the procurement of the kits although we have not been advised of the actual amount that the government has secured as well as the source of this money. Its interesting that the government declares it has no money but when it suits itself they suddenly have it. This confirms our fears that this government is determined to rig the 2018 elections.

The same newspaper reports suggest that although the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is surprised that the government has decided to come in at this stage it supports this move by government. This clearly shows that ZEC is complicit and not independent.

As the nation is no doubt aware both political parties in the National Electoral Reform Agenda (NERA) and the Coalition of Democrats (CODE) have been actively participating in the ZEC-Political Parties Platform. This platform is intended to provide a forum for interaction between ZEC and the political parties on ways to improve Zimbabwe's electoral system.

In an effort to improve our electoral system, ZEC with the concurrence of some political parties engaged experts from the UNPD who immediately identified four areas critical to electoral reforms. These are:

a. Constant engagement between ZEC and political parties and other stakeholders.
b. Inclusive voter education process.
c. The construction of a completely new voter's roll.

To that end it was agreed that through the UNDP, ZEC would undertake the procurement of Biometric Voter Registration kits and be involved in the voter registration process. Consequently, a joint advertisement for potential vendors was done by ZEC and UNDP in the press.

Subsequently, ZEC invited five representatives of political parties to witness the opening of the bids which was being done in Copenhagen. Together with the UNDP Country Director, ZEC chairperson Justice Rita Makarau advised the political parties and the nation on the remaining steps to be taken in the procurement of the kits. We were assured that political parties would be allowed to monitor the remainder of the procurement process.

We should state at the onset that as political parties we were satisfied with the level of transparency at that stage of the procurement of the BVR kits.

It is against this background that both NERA and CODE were taken aback by the government announcement that it is taking over the procurement process. More shocking was the decision by government to elbow out the UNPD in this process. Even more flabbergasting was the decision by ZEC to endorse this illegal move by the government. This is now government rigging the next elections and we cannot allow that to happen with our complicity or agreement.

Therefore as both NERA and CODE we totally reject the move by the government and ZEC to change the BVR kits procurement process and take out UNDP from the voter registration process.

The final question to be addressed is whether a UNDP procurement process undermines the sovereignty of Zimbabwe. We hold that it in fact enhances the sovereignty of the Zimbabwean people rather than inhibit it. We say so for the following reasons:

a. Zimbabwe is part of the United Nations by choice. Ipso facto it is a member of the UN institutions like the UNDP for example. A process involving the UNDP acting in partnership with a state institution like ZEC does not at all undermine the sovereignty of Zimbabwe.
b. The constitution of Zimbabwe now recognizes the sovereignty of the people. The procurement of BVR kits through a transparent process enhances rather than inhibits the sovereignty of the people.
c. The true independence of ZEC enhances the people's ability to elect leaders of their choice. This is the hallmark of the whole concept of the sovereignty of the people.
d. In the constitution-making process, the UNDP assisted government by mobilizing donor funds for the process and administering the basket fund for this process. Zimbabwe's sovereignty was never affected.

We therefore demand that the current UNPD procurement process must proceed undisturbed. We call upon all Zimbabweans from all walks of life to resist this rigging. To that extent both NERA and CODE will close ranks in order to fight these attempts to manipulate the electoral process. A legal suit as well as massive nationwide demonstrations will be launched should the government persist with its evil agenda. To that end political parties will work together to ensure that the rights of the Zimbabwean people are not trampled underfoot by this vile regime.

ZEC is a government captured institution without any resemblance of independence as required by the constitution. As political parties we don't believe that ZEC is able to run a free and fair election. Rita Makarau has failed to demand or advocate for an independent ZEC. As such we don't recognize what ZEC and the government are doing. We therefore demand that ZEC be disbanded and reconstituted by agreement by all political parties. If that cannot be done then we resort to the 1980 vote system where voters need only produce an ID.

NERA/CODE