THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has declined to disclose the recommendations that President Emmerson Mnangagwa (ED) made on its controversial preliminary delimitation report.
Zec told NewsDay yesterday that authority to get
Mnangagwa’s views on the report publicised could only be sought from the Office
of the President and Cabinet.
This has raised questions over the electoral body’s
independence.
On January 23, Mnangagwa submitted his recommendations on
the preliminary delimitation report to Zec, but they have remained under wraps,
while Parliament’s recommendations have been made public.
When NewsDay requested for a copy of Mnangagwa’s
recommendations, Zec chief elections officer Utloile Silaigwana initially
demanded the questions in writing, but later said he was not authorised to
release the recommendations to the media.
“You must put your request in writing,” Silaigwana said.
“But why would you need the (President’s) recommendations?
This is an issue that is above us. In fact, I cannot give you, I am not
authorised to give you the recommendations.”
However, constitutional law expert and Political Actors
Dialogue member Lovemore Madhuku said Mnangagwa’s recommendations should be
made public since he is an interested party in the elections.
“This is because the President did not make the
recommendations as a private citizen, but as the President,” Madhuku said.
“The Constitution puts the President at the same level with
Parliament, and we are aware that Parliament’s recommendations were made
public. If he was advised properly, he ought to have gazetted his
recommendations. Zec also ought to
publicise those recommendations. I would not want to attribute the secrecy to a
sinister motive, but just that he (Mnangagwa) is not being advised properly.”
Observers said transparency on the communication between
Zec and Mnangagwa was key in demistifying the electoral process.
“The secrecy on Mnangagwa’s recommendations to Zec adds to
the questions on Zec’s credibility to run elections,” political analyst Eldred
Masunungure said.
“Zec is a constitutional commission which should be guided
by accountability and transparency. Communication between Zec and the President
on the delimitations process — a public process — is of public interest. The report from the parliamentary ad-hoc
committee was publicised. Therefore, the secrecy on Mnangagwa’s recommendations
breathes unnecessary suspicions that probably the President instructed Zec to
do some machinations that will help him win elections since he is also a
candidate in the upcoming election. It is also important to note that the
President is in a public office.”
Another analyst Vivid Gwede said: “The gist of the matter
in the delimitation process is about transparency and accountability.
Delimitation is a public process that determines boundaries of constituencies
and local authority wards, and it directly affects the electorate. Therefore, every bit and piece of information
of the process is very crucial for the public. It is the duty of the Presidium
and the Executive to be transparent."
Contacted for comment, Zec spokesperson Jasper Mangwana
referred questions to the electoral management body’s chairperson Justice
Priscilla Chigumba.
Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba was not picking
calls yesterday.
Zec is expected to deliver its final delimitation report by
February 26, but Chigumba said the commission was working towards releasing a
draft report this week.
NewsDay gathers that Zec’s report will be final and will
not be subject to scrutiny by the lawmakers again before Mnangagwa gazettes it,
although constitutional experts argue that the documents can still be
challenged in a court of law.
Zec is currently battling to deal with the fallout among
its commissioners after seven out of nine of them disowned the preliminary
delimitation report which Justice Chigumba handed to Mnangagwa early this
month. Newsday
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