Commissions Watch 6/2016
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission:
Six Vacancies Filled
18 August
COMMISSIONS WATCH 6/2016
ZIMBABWE ELECTORAL COMMISSION
[18th August 2016]
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission: Six Vacancies Filled
This bulletin is an update on the membership of the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission [ZEC] following its return to full strength with the filling of six
vacancies last month.
Procedure for Appointment of ZEC Members
Appointments to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission [ZEC] are made in
terms of section 238(1)(b) of the Constitution – the President appoints from
a list of nominees submitted by Parliament’s Committee on Standing Rules
and Orders [CSRO].
Section 237 of the Constitution provides for the procedure to be followed by
the CSRO in deciding on its list of nominees. It must advertise the
vacancies and invite the public to make nominations. It must then conduct
public interviews of prospective candidates, prepare a list of nominees and
submit the list to the President. The list sent to the President must give the
President a choice – the number of candidates on the list must be at least
one-and-a-half times the number of vacancies to be filled. Finally, the
President cannot appoint someone not on the CSRO list; he must make his
choice from the persons on the list.
Reappointment is allowed, subject to the restriction that no-one may be
appointed to serve more than 12 years in all, whether continuously or not
[Constitution, section 238(5)]. A candidate seeking reappointment is not
exempt from the procedure referred to in the previous paragraph – which
means that he or she must be interviewed by the CSRO, in public, just like
any other candidate. And reappointment is not automatic.
Six ZEC Vacancies Filled Recently
In May, the CSRO conducted interviews to fill six vacancies on the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. The vacancies were caused by the
expiry at the end of March of the terms of office of Mrs Joyce Kazembe
[former deputy-chairperson], Mr Daniel Chigaru, Mr Theophilus Gambe, Dr
Petty Makoni, Mrs Sibongile Ndhlovu and Mrs Bessie Nhandara.
Five of the six outgoing commissioners were among the candidates
interviewed. They were Mrs Kazembe, Dr Makoni, Mrs Nhandara, Mr
Chigaru, and Mrs Ndlovhu.
After conducting the public interviews, the CSRO submitted a list of nine
nominees to the President. The President appointed the following six
persons—
New members
Dr Ngoni Kundidzora, Mrs Netsai Mushonga and Mrs Faith Sebata