Chamisa wants cops barred from collecting poll data

Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) wants police officers stopped from accessing any information relating to the progress of the country's elections, in a raft of demands placed by the main opposition ahead of the 2023 elections.

In a statement Friday, Nelson Chamisa's party outlined its own set of demands it wants set out as minimum electoral conditions before, during and after the polls.

Among the demands is the transparent transmission of results or any other poll based data from polling stations to national centres.

"ZEC should give assurances that there will be no deviation from the legally prescribed route of transmission of results and any such future deviation should be legally challenged. There are no results which should be taken to a ‘district' Centre.

"Only polling officials, polling agents and accredited observers should be allowed to communicate polling data or election results.

"Police officers should not be given any polling data or election information for any reasons," CCC said, adding that polling officials should also be barred from transmitting polling data using their own mobile phones.

In past elections, when mobile phones were not yet in use, police were roped in to with their transmission service radios to relay poll based data to district, provincial and national command centres.

CCC now wants a stop to the practice.

The party did not state why it wants police officers banned from accessing polling data.

However, the opposition has been accusing police of bias towards its Zanu-PF arch-rival.

CCC also demanded the carrying out of reforms to ensure institutions key to the holding of the elections remain non-partisan.

These include the military, police, ZEC, judiciary and traditional leaders.

The opposition party, which poses the most realistic chance of ending Zanu-PF's four-decade long stranglehold on power, went on to demand the setting out of "clear transitional arrangements" should there be a poll winner other than the party that is in power.

CCC fears a repeat of the tense atmosphere 2008 when the military stepped in to manage the situation after then President Robert Mugabe had lost the first round of the election to his main opponent Morgan Tsvangirai.

Other demands placed by the opposition ahead of the polls include granting all Zimbabweans regardless of geographical location the right to cast their ballots, voter education, a credible voters' roll and a "real time and credible results management system".

Chamisa's party also wants all candidates afforded equal coverage within public media as well as assurances on the safety of the voters should the poll outcome emerge out of any party's liking.

CCC's poll demands follow a declaration placed earlier in the week by opposition politicians affiliated to President Emmerson Mnangagwa's POLAD who were also outlining their wish list ahead of the general elections.

Zimbabwe holds harmonised elections next year with a recent survey by the Mass Public Opinion Institute predicting Chamisa would beat Mnangagwa should instant polls be called today.