THE chaotic manner in which the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) handled the special voting process by soldiers and the police left a lot to be desired and one hopes the scenario will not repeat itself when the generality of Zimbabweans participate in the watershed harmonised elections on July 31.
NewsDay Editorial
There were widespread reports of delay in the issuance of ballot papers across the country for the thousands of soldiers and police officers, raising serious doubts if Zec will be able to effectively run the general elections.
Who would trust Zec with handling millions of voters in 15 days’ time if it cannot put proper logistics in place for just a few soldiers and police officers?
The flimsy defence by Zec deputy chairperson Joyce Kazembe that the delays were “beyond our expectation” is unacceptable. Zec officials have at any given time announced that they were ready to host elections, but these developments have put a serious dent in their reputation ahead of the watershed elections.
Kazembe said: “This was mainly due to the fact that we delayed dispatching ballot papers to the centres. I wish to advise that the printing of ballot papers delayed even beyond our expectation. This was due to a number of reasons, chief of which was the delay in finalising the designing of ballot papers in those wards and constituencies where nomination was under challenge. We admit we underestimated the process. By next week all ballot papers for July 31 will be ready.”
Kazembe wants us to believe Zec will be ready, but after this mishap, very few will take her seriously. She should stop politicking over elections. There must be a difference between politicians and technocrats. We are aware we are in the election season and expect politicians to promise us heaven on earth even if we know they will be lying to us, but we don’t expect the same from experts whom we have entrusted with handling of crucial elections.
What occurred on Sunday and yesterday must serve as a wake-up call for Zec. We advise the electoral body to speedily pick themselves up and ensure that this does not happen again lest people will conclude that the forthcoming elections will be a farce. So much is at stake in these elections as they define the destiny of the country and our children’s future. This is a serious matter that deserves very careful handling.
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Besides the current chaos, Zec also failed to ensure that thousands of Zimbabweans register as voters. We have said it and will say it again that the disenfranchisement of thousands of voters during the registration process has already skewed the outcome of the election.
That the commission only extended the voter registration for hours on the last day when it was evident that it would not be adequate to accommodate the huge number of those wanting to vote smacks not only of arrogance, but underhand motives to ensure that they shortchange the electorate in urban areas.
So far Zec has failed the electorate. Our confidence in Zec is waning and something must be done now to arrest the chaos.
