Major plus for Zimbabwe electoral system

31 Aug, 2014 - 06:08 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

Kuda Bwititi – Sunday Mail Reporter

The country’s poll system has received a major vote of confidence through the unanimous election of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Chair Justice Rita Makarau as president of the Sadc Electoral Commission Forum.

Justice Makarau, who was elected at the 16th Sadc ECF Annual General Conference in Mauritius on August 12 and 13, will lead the body for two years. The forum is a grouping of electoral commissions in Sadc mandated to observe national polls across the 15-member bloc. In addition, President Mugabe was recently installed as Sadc Chair at the bloc’s Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in Victoria Falls.

Justice Makarau takes the helm as Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia are due for plebiscites before year-end. She will oversee assembling and dispatching of observer missions to the three countries.

Zec acting chief elections officer Mr Dominico Chidakuza said they were elated by the elevation and thanked fellow commissions for displaying confidence in Zimbabwe. “The Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Justice Rita Makarau, commissioners and the entire staff of Zec are elated by this election, coming as it does when Zimbabwe has assumed the Chair of Sadc. “The Sadc-ECF is a grouping of all the elections commissions in the region and plays an important role in observing all elections within the region. In doing so, the forum has developed and adopted the Sadc Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation and the Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections in the Sadc region.

“The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is grateful to sister commissions in the Sadc region for the confidence reposed in it and will use its chairmanship of the forum to further strengthen the capacities of all EMBs in the region to continue to deliver fair elections for the people of the region.”

Zec succeeded the Electoral Supervisory Commission after being established by an Act of Parliament in 2004. It has so far superintended local elections in 2005, 2008 and 2013, as well as last year’s historic Constitutional referendum. Although Western governments — bitter over MDC-T’s crushing defeat by Zanu-PF in 2013 — discredit the running of polls, the election management body has widely been recognised for its capabilities. Sadc Election Observer Mission leader Mr Bernard Kamillius Membe said the best democratic practices and lessons were observed during the 2013 elections, among them Zec’s readiness to accept responsibility and address challenges arising from the electoral process; prompt accreditation of observers; use of indelible ink to avoid double-voting; and the use of translucent ballot boxes.

“These elections under the circumstances have been conducted well. Elections in the world are not perfect,” he said. “In the course of observing the elections, the mission noted that there was general adherence to the relevant national legal instruments and Sadc Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.” In September 2013, the African Union also appointed Justice Makarau to head its election observer mission to Rwanda.

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