News / National
ZEC urged to hire neutral people for fair elections
19 Dec 2022 at 18:33hrs | Views
According to the Zimbabwe Election Advocacy Trust (ZEAT), the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) ought to hire neutral individuals to guarantee free and fair elections.
ZEAT's executive director, Ignatious Sadziwa, said, in an interview with NewsDay Weekender, "A number of the commission's members are affiliated with the CIO [Central Intelligence Organisation] or the police, which is against the Constitution, including Utloile Silaigwana, the head of the secretariat. In order to conduct elections in accordance with the Constitution, we push for the dissolution of the secretariat and the commission."
For the general elections that will take place in 2023, the year 2022 has been a protracted period of turbulence and controversy.
The Election Amendment Bill was also denounced by Sadziwa as a "fraud" that would prevent the implementation of urgently required electoral reforms.
According to Takunda Tsunga, a legal and advocacy officer with the Election Resource Center, ZEC needs to handle political violence and the partisan behavior of traditional leaders.
Additionally, ZEC spokesperson Jasper Mangwana, said that the Constitution does not prohibit former serving army commanders from working for ZEC, thus those were "simply unsubstantiated assertions."
He said, "Even in the event that there are still former, they report directly to the commission rather than such organizations. In terms of hiring decisions, the commission is the last arbiter."
He further stated that no current member of any of the nation's security organizations works for the panel.
ZEAT's executive director, Ignatious Sadziwa, said, in an interview with NewsDay Weekender, "A number of the commission's members are affiliated with the CIO [Central Intelligence Organisation] or the police, which is against the Constitution, including Utloile Silaigwana, the head of the secretariat. In order to conduct elections in accordance with the Constitution, we push for the dissolution of the secretariat and the commission."
The Election Amendment Bill was also denounced by Sadziwa as a "fraud" that would prevent the implementation of urgently required electoral reforms.
According to Takunda Tsunga, a legal and advocacy officer with the Election Resource Center, ZEC needs to handle political violence and the partisan behavior of traditional leaders.
Additionally, ZEC spokesperson Jasper Mangwana, said that the Constitution does not prohibit former serving army commanders from working for ZEC, thus those were "simply unsubstantiated assertions."
He said, "Even in the event that there are still former, they report directly to the commission rather than such organizations. In terms of hiring decisions, the commission is the last arbiter."
He further stated that no current member of any of the nation's security organizations works for the panel.
Source - Byo24News
