More needs to be done

With only 13 days left until Zimbabwe heads to the polls, more should be done to ensure free, fair and credible elections as this is going to be the most closely watched election.

Elections and other political processes are crucial to the effectiveness of a nation’s governance and can either significantly advance or impede a nation’s long-term democratic development.

The most fundamental principle defining credible elections is that they must reflect the free expression of the will of the people.

To achieve this, the elections should be transparent, inclusive, and accountable and there must be equitable opportunities to compete in the elections.

These principles are supported by a number of electoral process – related obligations as well as a number of  significant rights and liberties ,  all of which are derived from public international law.

The electoral cycle approach views elections as an ongoing, integrated process made up of components that collaborate and influence one another rather than as a collection of discrete occurrences.

Although President Emmerson Mnangagwa has received praise for his proclamations of peace, there are still some steps that need to be taken to guarantee credible, fair, and free elections.

This week, MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora withdrew from the race for president in the forthcoming  elections, citing an unfair electoral system that was skewed in favour of the ruling ZANU-PF party.

He claimed that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) had acted improperly.

“We are not going to be part of the baptism, blessing of this sham. This election is a farce,” Mwonzora told journalists at a press conference in Harare.

He added: “We have seen massive disenfranchisement, mass disqualification of a good number of people. There is no doubt why the MDC is being treated in a different manner from other political parties, it is because the MDC took ZEC to court over delimitation,” Mwonzora went on.

“The delimitation that we fought against is now in force and its effects are now clear on this election. Right now as we are speaking ZEC is busy changing boundaries of wards and constituencies. It has added more than a 1,000 more polling stations because delimitation was invalid.

“Having seriously considered this, and being a patriotic Zimbabwean, I took part in the crafting of the constitution of our land. I believe that the constitution is not there for decoration. I believe that there is a minimum standard of integrity required in our electoral system, and I believe that the mass disenfranchisement of our people, the discrimination of one party by the election management body, and with the concurrence of my party, I have withdrawn my candidature in this election. We are boycotting this farce, we are boycotting this sham, we are boycotting this presidential election.”

Mwonzora, however, is still listed as a candidate for president because, according to ZEC, he missed the deadline to withdraw.

The Electoral Act stipulates that a presidential election withdrawal must be made at least 21 days prior to election day.

Additionally, former cabinet minister and independent presidential candidate Saviour Kasukuwere has been disqualified from running in the upcoming presidential election after the High Court determined that he did not comply with the residency requirements outlined in the electoral law.

Currently living in exile in South Africa, Kasukuwere had submitted his nomination papers in June with the intention of contesting the presidential election for the first time in his political career.

However, his candidacy was contested in court by a man named Lovedale Mangwana, who claimed that the former party commissar Kasukuwere did not fully qualify to run for office because he had not lived in Zimbabwe for the previous 18 months.

Related