THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) says it plans to
rebrand and become more open and transparent to the public ahead of critical
elections in 2023.
Speaking during a strategic meeting held in Harare
yesterday, Zec chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba said they had retreated
to map a strategic plan which should put emphasis on rebranding Zec, alignment
of electoral laws and regulations to the Constitution, delimitation of
boundaries and improvement in the electoral process such as stakeholder
engagement and results transmission.
Results transmission and stakeholder engagement were big
issues in the 2018 general elections, leading players in the election to cast a
vote of no confidence on Zec.
Zec chief elections officer (CEO) Utoile Silaigwana,
acutely aware of the burden of mistrust and the attendant results, told senior
Zec officials and other stakeholders that he was going to create more transparency
and engage stakeholders more openly.
“Accountability means that the electoral management body
(EMB) is responsible for its activities and must provide evidence to its
stakeholders and public that these activities are effective and meet its
prescribed legal, ethical, service and financial standards. The principle of
accounting requires the EMB’s to provide comprehensive public information on
their policies, intended outcome, performance and the resources they have used
and intend to use including public and other funds,” Silaigwana said.
The newly-appointed CEO said this would not only improve
transparency and public trust, but would protect Zec from unfounded
allegations.
“Transparency in our activities increases public trust and
confidence in the EMB’s operations and may protect it against unfounded
allegations,” he
said.
Independent electoral watchdog Zimbabwe Elections Support
Network (Zesn) has been urging Zec to publish its elections calendar well in
advance for accountability purposes.
In its election observer mission compendium, Zesn noted
that it was critical for Zec to be transparent.
“The Zec should provide information on all stages of the
electoral process in an easily accessible form including, Zec resolutions, data
on the process of removing duplicates from the voters roll, (and releasing) all
polling station results in a tabulated format, including the original V11 and
V23a/b returns,” part of the recommendations read.
At the retreat meeting, Zec acknowledged the
recommendations and expressed desire to implement them. Newsday
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