ZEC team to observe SA elections

Bulawayo Bureau
THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has deployed its chairperson, Justice Priscilla Chigumba, and two other officials to observe South Africa’s elections set for tomorrow.

South Africa holds its national elections tomorrow with a record 48 political parties contesting in the polls.

In an interview yesterday, Zec commissioner Dr Qhubani Moyo said the electoral commission’s officials would not just observe the elections but also learn how to improve the country’s electoral systems.

“Zec dispatched its chairperson, Justice Chigumba, the director voter education (Rejoyce Sibanda) and its Acting Chief Elections Officer (Utoile Silaigwana) to observe South Africa’s elections. This is also a follow-up to the learning visit during which Zec had also dispatched its chairperson, commissioner (Qhubani) Moyo and its CEO and also members of political parties that are represented in Parliament to go and understand the electoral processes in South Africa as a neighbour and a member of SADC. So it’s a follow-up to go and have a practical understanding of what is going on there,” said Dr Moyo.

He said while the country is not in the election season, Zec is using this period to prepare for the next general elections in 2023.

Dr Moyo said apart from the South African elections, the electoral body will be sending teams to various countries that are in the election season where it has been invited.

“Zec is using this period to try and understand how elections are working in other jurisdictions. For instance, Zec is deploying Commissioner (Dr Ngoni) Kundidzora to observe elections in Malawi which are happening in the next two weeks. Zec has also been invited to come and learn and observe elections in Australia which are happening soon.

Zec is dispatching Commissioner Dr (Qhubani) Moyo tomorrow (today) to go and learn experiences in India where that country is also having elections. So it’s a hectic programme for Zec. We want to get a wider understanding and experiences and see how we can improve our own electoral processes,” said Dr Moyo.