The ZCTU general council on May 15 discussed the impact of the country’s economic crisis on workers, and resolved to call for fresh elections. Acting ZCTU secretary generay, Japhet Moyo said in a statement the general council had noted that the Government of National Unity (GNU) had been characterised by impasses, name-calling and mistrust among the political parties while the majority of Zimbabweans continued to suffer.
“While it would have been ideal to have a new people driven constitution in place before elections, it is not currently possible.” “Mindful of the above, the General Council meeting therefore resolved that there be a constitutional amendment no 20 that specifically deals with Presidential elections. Local authorities, senate and parliament should not be affected since there were no contestations for the same.
“That the presidential elections be monitored by SADC, AU and the international community,” Moyo said. Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) and Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) remain deadlocked over the appointments of a new central bank governor and attorney general and Mugabe’s refusal to swear in MDC treasurer-general Roy Bennett as deputy Agriculture minister.
Zanu (PF) repeated this week that it would no longer make any concessions in negotiations until the MDC convinced Britain and its Western allies to remove sanctions imposed on Mugabe and his officials, further hardening positions among the rivals. But analysts said the unity deal remained the best chance to end Zimbabwe’s political crisis until fresh elections were held.
While… ZEC takes begging bowl to donors
HARARE The financially crippled Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has resolved to go out and beg funds from international donors to fund the countrys electoral reforms, a senior ZEC official has said.
ZEC deputy chairperson Joice Laetitia Kazembe said a full commission meeting this week resolved to go out and engage stakeholders from the civil society to help fund the countrys electoral reforms.
So far we have only managed to get 11 percent of the funds that were allocated to us in the 2010 national budget and our operations have been stalled because of that. We cannot fully undertake all the duties that we are mandated to do in the current constitution because we lack financial capacity, said Kazembe.
The 2010 Budget allocated US$ 4, 1 million for ZEC operations for the whole of 2010, under Vote 21 of the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs. The breakdown of the allocation, however, is not set out. Under the current Constitution, donations or grants from local or foreign sources may be accepted – but only with the consent of then Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs.
Asked about the legal challenges of sourcing money from outside the country, Kazembe said all the necessary government departments will be informed about the commissions resolution to source financial resources from international donors.
ZEC is currently understaffed and we have to rely with the human resources within the RGs (Registrar General) office to undertake most our duties. The compilation and maintenance of the voters roll is currently being done by the RGs office because we do not have the capacity, said Kazembe adding that ZEC currently employees about 400 workers.
The Registrar General’s office has in most elections been accused of producing a flawed voters roll. Kazembe said the countrys electoral reforms will not come to fruition if the political leaders do not provide financial support to ZEC. Kazembe said ZEC would not have problems in holding a referendum if the Constitutional making process eventually takes off. For the referendum there will be no need for a voters roll but the challenge will be to ensure that every polling station has enough ballot papers. This will be an opportunity for every Zimbabwean to express himself without having to be a registered voter, she said.
Although ZEC is responsible for conducting elections, there are impediments, both legal and institutional, which seriously limit the Commission’s power to ensure that elections are free and fair. Civil society organisations including the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) have pointed out that because ZEC cannot time the elections it will be difficult for the commission to guarantee free and fair elections.
According to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) general elections are called by the President with the agreement of the Prime Minister, while parliamentary by-elections have to be called within 14 days after the President notified of a vacancy in Parliament which means that ZEC only has a short time within which to plan and organise elections. Radio VOP
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