Pressure mounts on ZEC to clean up voters’ roll

The voters’ roll was a serious issue in the disputed July 2013 election and ZEC has consistently refused to release the roll, believed to contain evidence of rigging.

As part of measures to ensure future elections are held in a free and fair environment, the opposition has adopted various strategies including demanding a clean voters’ roll from ZEC as well as the alignment of electoral laws with the constitution.

Jacob Mafume, spokesperson for the MDC Renewal Team which recently merged with the MDC led by Welshman Ncube, said they were demanding a biometric voters’ roll.

“We will fight the battle on two fronts – through the Constitutional Court and Parliament,” said Mafume, revealing that they would play a major role in ensuring that all those eligible were registered as voters. He indicated that his party would not participate in a flawed electoral process.

Mavambo/Dawn/Kusile said Zimbabwe did not have a legitimate voters’ roll – but only a list of names compiled by Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede. “We demand a voters’ roll prepared by ZEC. Mudede does not have a role to play in the country’s electoral process,” said Evans Sagomba, spokesperson for Mavambo.

Dumiso Dabengwa, the ZAPU president, chose to be tight-lipped for now, but sources said the party had resolved to take any institution, including ZEC, to court for failing to comply with the constitutional provisions on the electoral process.

Like the other opposition parties, the MDC-T does not want Mudede to have anything to do with the electoral process. Party spokesperson Obert Gutu told The Zimbabwean: “ZEC should start compiling an acceptable biometric voters’ roll without Mudede’s involvement. Whatever voters’ roll Mudede is holding should be thrown away as we want to move towards constitutionally acceptable polls,” Gutu said, noting that ZEC had the constitutional mandate to compile the voters’ roll, not Mudede.

ZEC chairperson Justice Rita Makarau told a stakeholders meeting in Harare last week that, though it was mandated to take charge of the compilation of the voters’ roll, funding remained a major challenge.

Makarau said her office would work within the legal framework to deliver as required by the constitution, but the process could be further stalled by the fact that ZEC does most of its work manually.

Rindai Vava-Chipfunde, ZESN national director, told the Kadoma legislators’ elections workshop: “We do not expect any improvement on the voters’ roll before 2018 elections, as the Electoral Amendment Act did not give ZEC explicit rights to compile and manage the voters’ roll and take over responsibility from the RG’s office.

“Without a clear mandate, ZEC will not do anything much to improve the voters’ roll from what it is now,” said Chipfunde, indicating that she did not expect a fair election without a complete, accurate and current voters’ roll.