The continued withholding of information that should be in the public domain does nothing but raise our suspicions that ZEC, and the government from whom it appears to take its orders, has something serious to hide.
In the light of serious allegations – together with a sizeable body of evidence – by both wings of the MDC and other political parties, civil society, international rights groups and several governments, of massive rigging of the July 31 elections by Zanu (PF), we would have thought that ZEC would go out of its way to prove that the poll was credible.
But the kind of behaviour we have seen from the commission, and its dogged insistence on refusing to be transparent at every turn, would appear to confirm our worst fears – that the voters’ roll is in a shambles and that it was manipulated, falsified and otherwise generally abused to facilitate massive rigging of the election in favour of Zanu (PF).
We challenge Makarau to produce the voters’ roll in its electronic form without any further delay, otherwise all the doubting thomases – and there are many of them – have no option other than to believe that ZEC is still busy doctoring the evidence before producing it for public scrutiny. No less than her credibility as an independent judicial officer and judge of the High Court is at stake here.
It is common knowledge that all is not well in the High Court with the calibre of our judges. Even the Chief Justice, Godfrey Chidyausiku, is on record having complained of widespread corruption among judicial officers.
It would be a sad day for Zimbabwe indeed, if the name of Judge Makarau is soiled as a result of this ZEC debacle. The decision is hers – or maybe it isn’t?
Post published in: Editor: Wilf Mbanga