Zimbabwe: Calls mount for transparent counting and verification after electoral irregularities
In the face of electoral irregularities highlighted by international election observation missions, calls for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to deliver transparent counting and verification processes have been mounting.
These calls come after Zimbabweans demonstrated perseverance by exercising their democratic rights on Election Day, including queuing for long periods of time outside polling stations amid suppression and intimidation concerns.
In an interview with CITE, interim CCC Bulawayo Provincial Spokesperson, Swithern Chirowodza called on ZEC to count, transit and collate the election results timeously and strictly follow the Electoral Act.
“We pray that the counting and verification process will be timeous, transparent and lawful. In previous elections ZEC has been accused of forwarding election results via police and army communication channels with the result that elections were disputed,” he said.
Chirowodza also called upon ZEC to transparently and lawfully expedite the issuance of V11 and V23 forms to contesting political parties.
“This will reduce chances of having disputed outcomes,” he said, noting a legal case that is currently before the courts where Bulawayo-based human rights lawyers Abammeli and Nqobani Sithole filed an urgent court application with the Harare High Court seeking to compel ZEC to transmit and collate the presidential election results in accordance with the Electoral Act.
The applicants argued that ZEC violated the law in the 2013 and 2018 elections by separating the presidential election results from the National Assembly results and transmitting them via different routes.
“This is why we call on ZEC to do what is legal. Citizens have played their part and they must transparently count, verify and properly transmit results,” Chirowodza said.
The British Embassy in Zimbabwe has also stated that it supports calls for ZEC to provide transparent counting and verification processes, as the envoy praised many Zimbabweans for their patience and resilience in exercising their democratic rights, including queuing for long hours outside polling stations.
The envoy also echoed the preliminary findings of international election observation missions, which found major areas where the pre-election period and election day fell short of international and regional standards.
“These include a lack of transparency by ZE including through restricted access to the voters roll, bias of Zimbabwean to exercise their rights to freedoms of expression, assembly and association,” said the British Embassy in a statement.
“Observer missions also noted long delays in the opening of polling stations in some areas as well as allegations of intimidation by the Zanu PF aligned Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ) group.
ZEC must provide transparent counting and verification processes as the electoral process remains underway, noted the British embassy.
“We support the calls on ZEC to deliver transparent counting and verification processes. In the event of electoral disputes. We call on all parties and citizens to follow legal and constitutional processes to maintain peace and calm,” said the envoy who praised Zimbabweans who voted.
“We are encouraged by the spirit of peace and calm that prevailed across the country on Election Day.”
