ZEC calls for registration of political parties

THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson, Justice Priscilla Chigumba, yesterday called for the registration of political parties to mitigate the issues that plagued the 2023 elections.

Justice Chigumba underlined the need for legislative changes to the Electoral Act, suggesting that if the registration of political parties does not gain political traction, a cap should be placed on the time frame within which candidates can appeal their candidature before elections. The proposal aims to prevent the chaos experienced during last year’s Harmonised Elections when electoral courts were inundated with cases almost up to the eve of the polls.

Justice Chigumba made these remarks during a joint induction workshop of the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Thematic Committee on Human Rights in Bulawayo.

She also unpacked the functions of ZEC while highlighting the numerous appeals that stalled the printing of ballot papers during last year’ elections, leading to delays in their delivery to some polling stations and affecting the timely opening of polling stations.

“To solve the chaos around the nomination process, I made two recommendations: to register political parties or give time limits on electoral court challenges. This means the electoral court will stop accepting court challenges 30 days before Election Day,” she said.

Justice Chigumba said Zimbabwe has no legislation on the registration of political parties and that is causing problems.

“What we have are individuals notifying ZEC that they have established a political party and requesting to be added to the database,” she said.

Justice Chigumba noted that the lack of registration means no one is held responsible when individuals belonging to a political grouping make decisions. She explained that in other jurisdictions, political parties are registered like companies, making them more accountable as they risk being de-registered.

In Zimbabwe, political parties and candidates can only be held accountable when they have successfully filed their nomination papers.

“There is no political will to register political parties. It is only at the Nomination Court where ZEC has an opportunity to legally engage political parties. During the Nomination Court process, you find a lot of chaos as candidates are made to comply with laid-down procedures.

“At the moment nomination officers cannot disqualify any candidate from standing. If you come as 10 individuals claiming to represent a political party, the nomination officer will have to register all of you.

The issue of who is the legal owner of a political party is a legal decision and nomination court officers cannot address that as they are not legal officers,” said Justice Chigumba.

Despite the disruptions caused by candidates’ electoral appeals, Justice Chigumba said ZEC delivered a near-perfect election.

“In terms of international best practice, we are allowed a 10 percent margin of error and in the 2023 Harmonised Elections, our margin of error was four percent,” she said.

Justice Chigumba said ZEC statistics prove that in areas where delays forced voters to vote on the second day, there was a high voter turnout, meaning administrative challenges did not disenfranchise voters.

She urged Zimbabweans to avoid putting an unnecessary dent in the management of the country’s polls.

Justice Chigumba said the delays in delivering ballot papers were not a voter suppression as claimed by some people but an administrative problem caused by court challenges.

“We had an unprecedented number of appeals and these were in different courts. Some candidates would lodge an appeal in different courts in Harare and if they were not satisfied, they would go to Mutare,” she said.

Justice Chigumba said ZEC is engaging the Judiciary Service Commission to prevent candidates from making multiple appeals on matters, especially when another court has already dealt with the case.

She said she is surprised when Parliamentarians suggest that ZEC needs to be disbanded, saying it shows their lack of knowledge of the functions of the electoral management body, which derives its mandate from Parliament. — @nqotshili