The MDC is worried that Utoile Silaigwana, a former army
Major who joined ZEC as a serving military officer, has now been confirmed as
the electoral body’s substantive chief elections officer.
Silaigwana’s substantive appointment with effect from 1
July 2019 is testament to the fact that ZEC needs urgent reform if it is to
retain its credibility among ordinary Zimbabweans and political players in the
country.
Put simply, the appointment vindicates the fact that Zimbabwe
is the true home of command elections which have resulted in losers occupying
the seat of government while the winners are locked out.
It is pertinent to note that as a serving soldier,
Silaigwana was part of the tainted ZEC secretariat that withheld election
results for five weeks in 2008 in a plebiscite that SADC and the AU
emphatically rejected as not reflective of the will of the people of Zimbabwe.
As acting chief elections officer since March 2018, Silaigwana also presided
over the disputed polls of July 30 last year which resulted in Mr. Mnangagwa
being controversially declared as President by the courts and not by the
people, who are truly sovereign.
Silaigwana’s substantive appointment to the key position of
chief elections officer within the country’s electoral body is all the more
reason why a comprehensive reform agenda encompassing political, electoral and
media reforms is imperative if Zimbabwe is to break from the vicious cycle of
disputed elections.
The MDC has great respect for the military but we have
always maintained that the place for our soldiers is the barracks. The
military, whether serving or retired, have no place in civilian electoral
processes.
It is unfortunate that Silaigwana’s appointment comes at a
time when Zimbabweans are in the throes of an unmitigated economic crisis
spawned by the stolen elections of 2018, in which ZEC spectacularly revised
downwards its own figures a record three times.
Next week on Wednesday, 10 July 2019, the MDC will be
launching RELOAD, a blueprint that encapsulates the party’s comprehensive
agenda for a return to legitimacy. RELOAD is our menu to return the Zimbabwe
train back on the rails after the stolen election of 2018 which has resulted in
an unprecedented economic meltdown in the country.
Silaigwana’s appointment yesterday is all the more reason
why the country should embark on a comprehensive reform agenda if Zimbabwe is
to break away from the cycle of disputed plebiscites and join the family of
civilized nations.
Soon, the MDC under the leadership of president Chamisa
will be leading the people of Zimbabwe in defining a new course for the
country.
Luke Tamborinyoka
Deputy National Spokesperson
Movement for Democratic Change
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