In separate interviews spokespersons for the two MDC formations said ZEC’s credibility and transparency was increasingly in doubt.
The parties alleged that ZEC’s allegiance to Zanu (PF) was becoming more evident as election time approaches.
There are also doubts as to whether ZEC will be able to correct its mistakes during the special voting process which saw 26,160 uniformed forces being unable to cast their votes.
The special voting process was marred by serious logistical problems, chief among them the shortage of ballot papers.
In order to cover up for the disenfranchisement of the uniformed forces, ZEC had to approach the Constitutional Court, which granted a request that the uniformed forces who failed to vote would do so today (July 31). MDC-T spokesperson, Douglas Mwonzora, said his party was suspicious of the conduct of ZEC.
“We want ZEC to be transparent. We expect ZEC to be efficient and desist from partisan conduct. Our suspicion is that it will have challenges but we are just hoping and praying that things are going to be done transparently to everyone’s satisfaction,” said Mwonzora.
The spokesperson of the MDC led by Welshman Ncube, Kurauone Chihwayi, alleged underhand dealings between ZEC and Zanu (PF) to rig the elections in favour of the latter and said his party was going into the elections wary of the machinations.
“We are heading towards a seriously disputed election. The credibility of ZEC has fallen away. We know Zanu (PF) wants to use state institutions like ZEC to steal elections. ZEC has been holding midnight meetings with Zanu (PF) and leaving out other parties. It seems they have recruited party activists to run ZEC programmes and that is unacceptable to us. ZEC has to prove its credibility through executing their mandate without fear or favour,” said Chihwayi.
He said that besides infiltrating ZEC, Zanu (PF) had resorted to violent means of winning the elections. “We are dealing with a party that has a history of violence and does not have the confidence of winning elections without shedding blood.
Right now, they are using soldiers and the CIO to intimidate people.
That is why there is increased doubt over the credibility of these elections because our members are under siege from Zanu (PF),” said Chihwayi.
The Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, Solomon Zwana, expressed hope that ZEC would be able to correct its mistakes shown in the special voting process although he said the various concerns being raised by stakeholders creates room for a disputed election outcome.
“We still hope they will be able to correct their mistakes but every little thing has the potential of creating ground for disputed elections. There are some concerns but you will also note that there was not enough time to prepare from the date of the proclamation and that could actually be used as litigation.
“ZEC needs to be transparent and ensure that all stakeholders are updated on whatever will be happening,” said Zwana.
Political analyst, Rejoice Ngwenya, said chances of ZEC presiding over a credible and transparent election were slim.
“All the signs right now are pointing to an organised chaos. ZEC might have the capacity to effectively run these elections but there are some who would like to benefit from chaos,” said Ngwenya.
Post published in: News