1 zimbabwe election support network [zesn] - Nehanda Radio
1 zimbabwe election support network [zesn] - Nehanda Radio
1 zimbabwe election support network [zesn] - Nehanda Radio
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
of Assembly and Senate] boundaries. It also caused confusion for the nomination process<br />
within political parties, in some cases forcing re-runs of some primaries. Parliamentarians were<br />
not given adequate opportunity to debate the Delimitation report and make any<br />
recommendations for changes to the setting of constituency boundaries. Failure to allow this<br />
debate and to hear the recommendations of the parliamentarians flies in the face of the letter<br />
and spirit of the constitutional provisions. In future, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission which<br />
is now responsible for delimiting constituencies and other electoral boundaries must be obliged<br />
to give public notice before embarking on a delimitation exercise and “so far as is practicable<br />
within the time available” entertain representations from political parties and other interested<br />
parties who are likely to be affected by its decisions, stick to universal principles of<br />
representatives, equal voting strength and serviceability, independence and professionalism.<br />
Nominations<br />
While nomination processes were largely transparent, there are concerns with multiple<br />
candidates from same political parties attempting to file nomination papers, developments that<br />
resulted in sporadic intra-party violence at nomination courts. Nomination papers were rejected<br />
or disqualified due among other factors to, inadequate papers, candidates being nominated by<br />
persons who are not registered as voters, the prospective candidate’s name not appearing on<br />
the voters’ roll or on the basis that the candidate was alien. Problems also arose from the use<br />
of a manual system [use of hard copies of the voters’ rolls to verify registration of candidates<br />
and <strong>support</strong>ers], limited use of computers, and use of small, often cramped venues as<br />
nomination courts invariably limited public access to the nomination process. To strengthen<br />
nomination processes and practices, it is recommended that:<br />
• In order to avoid that disappointment of failing to lodge their papers,<br />
prospective candidates should ensure that their papers are in order well in<br />
advance. The provisions of the law, which allow filing of papers before<br />
nomination day, could also be used.<br />
• Political parties should also ensure that their candidates have the correct<br />
particulars that qualify them as candidates so that rejection of nomination<br />
papers on clearly justifiable grounds is reduced.<br />
• Adequate funding should be allocated to Electoral Commission to ensure<br />
efficient management of nomination processes.<br />
• ZEC should ensure that citizens receive relevant education of the electoral<br />
process to enable them to exercise rights such as standing for <strong>election</strong>.<br />
• Adequate information should be disseminated on the requirements of<br />
candidates for all contested seats to be done in time to reduce rejection of<br />
nomination papers.<br />
• Timeous availability of information on ward and constituency boundaries so<br />
that nominees are identified from the correct wards and constituencies.<br />
• Adequate dissemination of voter information so that prospective candidates<br />
know the actual venues of the nomination courts.<br />
• Uniform, collective and timeous announcement of nominated candidates to<br />
avoid speculative reporting by the media and other stakeholders.<br />
Access to State Media<br />
While the pre-29 March era witnessed some visible effort to allow advertisements and air time<br />
to different political parties on state controlled radio and television stations [though late and still<br />
biased in favor of the ruling party], the post era cast an incomparable contrast. Contrary to<br />
65