Commissioners Jasper Mangwana and his deputy Catherine
Mpofu were yesterday relieved of their duties as spokespersons of the elections
management body with Chigumba giving herself, her deputy Rodney Simukai Kiwa
and Zec’s chief elections officer Uitloile Silaigwana the sole authority to
speak on behalf of the entity.
Mangwana and Mpofu are among the seven commissioners who
dissociated themselves from the draft delimitation report which Chigumba
submitted to President Emmerson Mnangagwa in December last year, whose final
has since been gazetted.
"In terms of the Electoral Act and by the operations
of law and virtue of condition of service, oath of office and Zec public
relations and communications policy of 2020, the following three officials
statutorily designated to be spokespersons of Zec: chairperson Justice P M
Chigumba, deputy chairperson Ambassador R Kiwa, chief elections officer Mr U
Silaigwana," Justice Chigumba said in a Press statement.
"In light of the above, members of the public and the
electorate are hereby advised that with effect from February 20, 2023, the
above-mentioned three people are the exclusive spokespersons of Zec. As Zec
chairperson, I undertake to respond to any query within 72 hours of its
receipt."
Mangwana tweeted: “Vanemibvunzo vekubata avo (Those with
questions, contact the people below),” and attached to his tweet a picture of
Chigumba’s Press statement.
The other five commissioners who rebelled against Chigumba
are Abigail Millicent Mohadi-Ambrose, Jane Mbetu Nzvenga, Kudzai Shava,
Rosewita Murutare and Shepherd Manhivi.
The seven wrote to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and
Parliament rejecting the draft delimitation report submitted to the President
in December.
Mangwana was appointed Zec spokesperson in March last year,
taking over from Joyce Kazembe, while Mpofu was appointed his deputy soon after
her appointment as Zec commissioner in September the same year.
Electoral stakeholders say the fallout among Zec
commissioners could jeopardize the upcoming polls as running the elections
requires Zec staff to work in harmony.
Electoral watchdogs have demanded that government launch an
inquiry into the fallout among Zec commissioners, which they say has crippled
the electoral body six months before the country holds general elections.
“The conduct of the electoral commission is of grave
concern, particularly taking into account that Zimbabwe is in an election
year," Election Resource Centre programmes officer Takunda Tsunga
said.
“The current actions put a further dent in the credibility
crisis faced by the commission.”
Zimbabwe Election Advocacy Trust director Ignatius Sadziwa
said: "The discordant component of
the electoral management body leaves a lot to be desired. The integrity and
capacity of Zec is now questionable especially after the delimitation debacle.
As a result, a free and fair election is impossible under such conditions and
this calls for serious intervention by all election stakeholders.
“While we appreciate that the task is a daunting one owing
to a heavily polarized political terrain, Justice Priscilla Chigumba and team
must simply do the honourable and resign to pave way for a new team that is not
compromised.” Newsday
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