Opinion / Columnist
Makarau surrenders professional values & ethics by letting her judicial robe fall to her knees
24 Jul 2017 at 06:35hrs | Views
Justice Rita Makarau, former ZANU PF appointee none constituency MP for parliamentary legal committee, professional lawyer, constitutional and supreme court judge, current secretary of the judiciary services commission (JSC) and current chairwoman of Zimbabwe election commission (ZEC) appointed by Mugabe to the post in 2013 without going through the committee of standing orders as required by the constitution is absorbed in bad electoral ethics.
The appointment of Justice Rita Makarau to ZEC is perceived to be purely a ZANU PF political undertaking that wired and programmed her to be robotically charitable to ZANU PF in her conduct within the electoral process. Her conduct and performance as chairwoman of ZEC pursuant to the wishes of her appointing officer is to preside over the electoral process that is second-rate to portray an image that electoral neutrality is being served. Having been appointed by Mugabe, it is compiling for Rita to take into consideration the expressed wishes of her appointing officer who is responsible for her appointment, promotion or demotion if required.
Rita is inclined to feel vulnerable to dismissal so she finds herself obligated to return a favour as an act of gratitude and appreciation for having been given the job as chairwoman of ZEC and also maintain her other job as secretary of JCS. There are no good outcomes expected of Rita by getting herself closer to the evil of ZANU PF and for her becoming an outlet to bad practice.
Rita tries hard to make good news out of bad practice. It will be folly to allow Rita to continue to bypass the provisions of the constitution and electoral law to dictate terms fed to her by her invisible election manipulators. The purpose of the election is to hear the will of the people in an atmosphere of peace, freedom of choice, transparency, and fairness that is run by an electoral leadership that resonates with public sentiments and confidence, not to fabricate the votes.
The right to hold elections is the very essence of the constitution. The view held by many is that Rita does not represent the best chief election commissioner our country has ever had. She and her predecessors suffered the same shame fate of surrendering their professional values and ethics to the whims of ZANU PF political cynicism and interference. Her collusion with ZANU PF makes Rita an obstacle that stands between the people and the constitution at a point where she should be laying the constitution and the electoral act to the people to provide a pathway for a truly democratic and credible electoral process. There seems to be concerted efforts by the learned Judge Rita, to keep the guiding electoral constitutional procedures and processes hidden underneath her judicial robe. Rita, in a gesture of allegiance, never speaks out against ZANUPF even in obvious situations where a comment may be necessary. ZANU PF on the other hand scarcely complains about her poor electoral management conduct. She conducts herself shadily as if she is an employee of ZANU PF. The belief is that ZANU PF is the driver behind all her actions to do with unethical manoeuvres, preparation and conduct of the defective elections. Her body language and actions show it all.
Rita parrots and vomits tripe every time she responds to electoral concerns raised by civic organisations and opposition parties trivialising and demeaning them. She would storm out of meetings held with opposition parties exhibiting a store of arrogance. She would even threaten the opposition parties that her organisation would not hold further meetings with them if they continued asking her hard questions. Rita is a hesitant commissioner when it comes to serious decision making sometimes showing little confidence with what she is doing and professing ignorance where certain things are. She pretends she does not know where the 2013 electoral voters roll is. In so doing Rita is obstructing the critical factor of enhancing transparency of the electoral process that facilitates active and open participation of all political parties and the electorate.
The provision of a democratic electoral process attempts to fulfil the requirement of the constitution for the creation of an independent and impartial election environment. As a learned judge Rita is aware that a transparent, accountable, and professional ZEC is expected to be a means of ensuring that democratic and internationally standards related to the democratic electoral process are met. It is curiously bothersome why Rita provides makeshift and superficial remedies in fulfilling this requirement.
Under the electoral law and during electoral contestation all parties are equal. If Rita continues to report to President not to parliament and other relevant bodies then the election process in Zimbabwe is severely faulty. There is a conflict of interests as Mugabe is a contestant, he cannot be a contestant that makes the rules, and chooses the referees. It is sheer common sense that Mugabe will never make rules that disadvantage him. Rita has constantly failed in her role to explain with conviction as well as in deeds who is responsible for the registration of voters and compilation of the voters roll between her (registrar of voters) and Tobaiwa Mudede ( registrar of birth and deaths).
We need to know why it is not possible to demilitarise the election process by removing members of the central intelligence organisation and the army from ZEC and fill the positions with professionals that have the requisite aptitude, neutrality, knowledge and skills that will bring professionalism to ZEC.
Rita conveniently avoids responding to this question by telling people that staffing of personnel to ZEC is not her responsibility. We believe that Rita has the legal jurisdiction hire staff to work at ZEC. Rita should say now that this time round voter registration will be available to everyone who is eligible to vote and that she will remove all unnecessary and unorthodox obstacles to the voter registration process such as dead people, absentee voters and multiple registrations of prospective voters. Rita should never say it for the second time that there is no perfect voters roll in the world. Statements like these are indicative of a person with no ambition to carry the flag of success in what she is doing as a commissioner. Rita should either shape up or ship out if she is unable to carry out an effective job of trusted commissioner.
The new initiative for electronic voter registration in her words is supposed to stop voter registration duplication by capturing and scanning into the electronic data base voter figure prints and facial images of prospective voters. The birth certificates, driving licence, national ID and passport are the only authentic documents of proof. All other forms of proof listed by ZEC can be complementary. Letters from landlords, kraal heads headmasters, priests and chiefs although necessary but not essential cannot be authenticated easily and they are open to abuse. If the electronic voter registration is specific to a polling station and the software is not networked to communicate across the country then the process is open to abuse. A person can register in one polling station and proceed to register at another without being detected.
People expect Rita to allocate time for public inspection of preliminary voters list, the voters roll and for her to provide adequate resources to raise public awareness of the registration process, including opportunities to verify the quality and accuracy of the voters roll and to seek any changes if necessary. The voters' registration centres should go to the people not people walking long distances to register as voters. This is the right of the voters as outlined in the Zimbabwe electoral act. The incident of 2013 of the army working with Mudede and Rita that saw the voters roll released a day before the election should never be repeated. It is a criminal offence. There is nowhere in the electoral act where it says the army should be involved in the vetting of the voters roll and printing of ballot papers. Rita knows that very well. If it happens again it will once again reveal why Rita should not be trusted as a capable, confident and neutral commissioner.
The declaration of result should not be delayed when ZANUPF is losing. Rita's moral and ethical beliefs will be a barometer to and not to announce election results that she knows very well that they are wrong and do not represent the will of the people. Idiotic and violent politicians should be disqualified and arrested according to the law. The duties of Rita includes making ensure that the public and opposition political parties are protected from harm the perennial violence of ZANU PF during elections. We want to see a Rita that does not only condone bad behaviour but also take practical steps to make sure that political parties' election campaigns are free of violence, intimidation and foolish threats.
It is the expectation of the electorate that ZEC discharges its duties effectively and efficiently including effective public administration of elections that ensures compliance to the constitution. The work and the integrity of ZEC will be measured by observable physical and tangible outcomes and in dealing with anticipated challenges and distrust by the electorate and the opposition parties. The electorate needs to see clear election staffing structures; a provision for training needs for the electorate, election staffers, and political parties; and a fair deployment of the equipment and stationery needed to administer the elections. Voter education and voter security should be a priority as people are the core and essential part of the electoral process. Doing this will increase voter turnout, reduce assisted voters, reduce the number of spoiled ballot papers and fulfil the people's fundamental right of a secret vote to vote people they trust will represent them in government. If Rita's organisation is underfunded would it not make sense to put the process on hold until the required funding is secured than running a process that Rita knows that it will fail?
The appointment of Justice Rita Makarau to ZEC is perceived to be purely a ZANU PF political undertaking that wired and programmed her to be robotically charitable to ZANU PF in her conduct within the electoral process. Her conduct and performance as chairwoman of ZEC pursuant to the wishes of her appointing officer is to preside over the electoral process that is second-rate to portray an image that electoral neutrality is being served. Having been appointed by Mugabe, it is compiling for Rita to take into consideration the expressed wishes of her appointing officer who is responsible for her appointment, promotion or demotion if required.
Rita is inclined to feel vulnerable to dismissal so she finds herself obligated to return a favour as an act of gratitude and appreciation for having been given the job as chairwoman of ZEC and also maintain her other job as secretary of JCS. There are no good outcomes expected of Rita by getting herself closer to the evil of ZANU PF and for her becoming an outlet to bad practice.
Rita tries hard to make good news out of bad practice. It will be folly to allow Rita to continue to bypass the provisions of the constitution and electoral law to dictate terms fed to her by her invisible election manipulators. The purpose of the election is to hear the will of the people in an atmosphere of peace, freedom of choice, transparency, and fairness that is run by an electoral leadership that resonates with public sentiments and confidence, not to fabricate the votes.
The right to hold elections is the very essence of the constitution. The view held by many is that Rita does not represent the best chief election commissioner our country has ever had. She and her predecessors suffered the same shame fate of surrendering their professional values and ethics to the whims of ZANU PF political cynicism and interference. Her collusion with ZANU PF makes Rita an obstacle that stands between the people and the constitution at a point where she should be laying the constitution and the electoral act to the people to provide a pathway for a truly democratic and credible electoral process. There seems to be concerted efforts by the learned Judge Rita, to keep the guiding electoral constitutional procedures and processes hidden underneath her judicial robe. Rita, in a gesture of allegiance, never speaks out against ZANUPF even in obvious situations where a comment may be necessary. ZANU PF on the other hand scarcely complains about her poor electoral management conduct. She conducts herself shadily as if she is an employee of ZANU PF. The belief is that ZANU PF is the driver behind all her actions to do with unethical manoeuvres, preparation and conduct of the defective elections. Her body language and actions show it all.
Rita parrots and vomits tripe every time she responds to electoral concerns raised by civic organisations and opposition parties trivialising and demeaning them. She would storm out of meetings held with opposition parties exhibiting a store of arrogance. She would even threaten the opposition parties that her organisation would not hold further meetings with them if they continued asking her hard questions. Rita is a hesitant commissioner when it comes to serious decision making sometimes showing little confidence with what she is doing and professing ignorance where certain things are. She pretends she does not know where the 2013 electoral voters roll is. In so doing Rita is obstructing the critical factor of enhancing transparency of the electoral process that facilitates active and open participation of all political parties and the electorate.
The provision of a democratic electoral process attempts to fulfil the requirement of the constitution for the creation of an independent and impartial election environment. As a learned judge Rita is aware that a transparent, accountable, and professional ZEC is expected to be a means of ensuring that democratic and internationally standards related to the democratic electoral process are met. It is curiously bothersome why Rita provides makeshift and superficial remedies in fulfilling this requirement.
Under the electoral law and during electoral contestation all parties are equal. If Rita continues to report to President not to parliament and other relevant bodies then the election process in Zimbabwe is severely faulty. There is a conflict of interests as Mugabe is a contestant, he cannot be a contestant that makes the rules, and chooses the referees. It is sheer common sense that Mugabe will never make rules that disadvantage him. Rita has constantly failed in her role to explain with conviction as well as in deeds who is responsible for the registration of voters and compilation of the voters roll between her (registrar of voters) and Tobaiwa Mudede ( registrar of birth and deaths).
We need to know why it is not possible to demilitarise the election process by removing members of the central intelligence organisation and the army from ZEC and fill the positions with professionals that have the requisite aptitude, neutrality, knowledge and skills that will bring professionalism to ZEC.
Rita conveniently avoids responding to this question by telling people that staffing of personnel to ZEC is not her responsibility. We believe that Rita has the legal jurisdiction hire staff to work at ZEC. Rita should say now that this time round voter registration will be available to everyone who is eligible to vote and that she will remove all unnecessary and unorthodox obstacles to the voter registration process such as dead people, absentee voters and multiple registrations of prospective voters. Rita should never say it for the second time that there is no perfect voters roll in the world. Statements like these are indicative of a person with no ambition to carry the flag of success in what she is doing as a commissioner. Rita should either shape up or ship out if she is unable to carry out an effective job of trusted commissioner.
The new initiative for electronic voter registration in her words is supposed to stop voter registration duplication by capturing and scanning into the electronic data base voter figure prints and facial images of prospective voters. The birth certificates, driving licence, national ID and passport are the only authentic documents of proof. All other forms of proof listed by ZEC can be complementary. Letters from landlords, kraal heads headmasters, priests and chiefs although necessary but not essential cannot be authenticated easily and they are open to abuse. If the electronic voter registration is specific to a polling station and the software is not networked to communicate across the country then the process is open to abuse. A person can register in one polling station and proceed to register at another without being detected.
People expect Rita to allocate time for public inspection of preliminary voters list, the voters roll and for her to provide adequate resources to raise public awareness of the registration process, including opportunities to verify the quality and accuracy of the voters roll and to seek any changes if necessary. The voters' registration centres should go to the people not people walking long distances to register as voters. This is the right of the voters as outlined in the Zimbabwe electoral act. The incident of 2013 of the army working with Mudede and Rita that saw the voters roll released a day before the election should never be repeated. It is a criminal offence. There is nowhere in the electoral act where it says the army should be involved in the vetting of the voters roll and printing of ballot papers. Rita knows that very well. If it happens again it will once again reveal why Rita should not be trusted as a capable, confident and neutral commissioner.
The declaration of result should not be delayed when ZANUPF is losing. Rita's moral and ethical beliefs will be a barometer to and not to announce election results that she knows very well that they are wrong and do not represent the will of the people. Idiotic and violent politicians should be disqualified and arrested according to the law. The duties of Rita includes making ensure that the public and opposition political parties are protected from harm the perennial violence of ZANU PF during elections. We want to see a Rita that does not only condone bad behaviour but also take practical steps to make sure that political parties' election campaigns are free of violence, intimidation and foolish threats.
It is the expectation of the electorate that ZEC discharges its duties effectively and efficiently including effective public administration of elections that ensures compliance to the constitution. The work and the integrity of ZEC will be measured by observable physical and tangible outcomes and in dealing with anticipated challenges and distrust by the electorate and the opposition parties. The electorate needs to see clear election staffing structures; a provision for training needs for the electorate, election staffers, and political parties; and a fair deployment of the equipment and stationery needed to administer the elections. Voter education and voter security should be a priority as people are the core and essential part of the electoral process. Doing this will increase voter turnout, reduce assisted voters, reduce the number of spoiled ballot papers and fulfil the people's fundamental right of a secret vote to vote people they trust will represent them in government. If Rita's organisation is underfunded would it not make sense to put the process on hold until the required funding is secured than running a process that Rita knows that it will fail?
Source - Themba Mthethwa
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