Human Rights Archive Zimbabwe

ZIMBABWE ELECTION SUPPORT NETWORK ELECTORAL REFORM PROPOSALS ELECTORAL ARCHITECTURE Legal Framework and operating environment S ome amendments were made to the Electoral Act in the prior to March 2008 e.g. requiring posting of election results outside polling stations and constituency tabulation centers. Other relevant pieces of legislation such as POSA, AIPPA and the Broadcasting Act. However these reforms were piecemeal in nature. Political violence affected enjoyment of fundamental human rights -association, assembly and speech. Unbalanced and unequal access to public media furthermore, there was a reversal to some of the reforms made on the eve of the 29 March election, through a presidential proclamation, for instance the requirement that police officers to be stationed 300 metres from polling stations. + ZESN continues to recommend a comprehensive legislative and security reforms + Removal of Presidential Powers [Temporary Measures] legislation in relation to elections + Media reforms + Zero tolerance on election related violence Electoral System Westminster system of first past the post [FPTP] based on the “winner-take-all” model, the unfolding political and leadership challenges in Zimbabwe can hardly be solved through such winner-take-all, zero sum frameworks. Besides being exclusionary, they generate tension in an environment already pregnant with tension and agitation. Recommendations The solution to the political stalemate in Zimbabwe lies in an electoral paradigmatic shift to more inclusive, accommodating, win-win electoral systems based on proportional representation and mixed electoral systems • • • • ELECTORAL OPERATIONS Voter Registration and Inspection of the Voters’ Roll • The requirement that voters should produce “any satisfactory documentary evidence reasonably proving where they live” proved in effect to be a restrictive requirement. • The voter registration exercise was also hampered by a number of logistical problems such as; inadequate time allocation, inadequate resources, insufficient and incorrect information was provided to citizens about the registration process. • Also in some cases conflicting information was provided on documents required to enable one to register as a voter. + Sound election administration is critical in building political party confidence in the conduct of elections. The delays that accompanied the release of election results, especially presidential results, do not reflect positively on ZEC’s election management capacity and autonomy. Its management of, nomination, voter education, voter registration and inspection processes particularly raised concern. Delimitation-Information on the delimitation exercise was not adequately provided. For example the public and parliamentarians were not given adequate time to debate and make inputs in the exercise. Delays in the delimitation of boundaries [constituencies and wards] saw voter registration and inspections and setting of the nomination date being done before the finalization of the delimitation exercise. To increase transparency of the process, it is recommended that the law should require the Commission to disclose the total number of ballots printed for each election. + • Review of the EMB Independent, adequate and qualified personnel Ensure the independence and efficiency of the body Financial autonomy of the EMB. Reporting to parliament Increased accountability of the Commission. For instance, Commissioners could each be given areas of responsibility to enhance accountability. The law could require the commissioners to divide among themselves responsibility for the + + + + + + + + The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission should be wholly responsible for voter registration. There should be a complete transfer of the management of the electoral process including preparing of the voters’ roll to ZEC. This should not only be in the law but also in practice. The election management body should then play a more proactive role to ensure that every eligible voter is registered. Proof of residence, which is needed if elections are held on a constituency basis, must be facilitated. Appeals against a refusal of registration, or against a decision to remove a voter from the roll, should lie to a magistrate, and from the magistrate to the Electoral Court and from there to the Supreme Court. ZEC should ensure that all voters registered during the inspection period as well as during the mobile voter registration exercises are urgently issued with voter registration certificates so that they are not disenfranchised. To facilitate the rectification of existing rolls, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission should be given power to order a re-registration of voters in particular constituencies or wards. Voter registration should be approached as an ongoing process. Stringent requirements which discourage and disable people from registering as voters should be done away with. The voter registration exercise should be sufficiently publicized to ensure that every citizen who desires to participate in elections is able to do so. Adequate resources [time, human and financial] should be allocated towards the voter registration exercise to enable ZEC to undertake its voter registration mandates. + + + + + + 1 A new delimitation exercise was conducted in advance of the 29 March 2008 election, there was insufficient time for people to participate in the process. A preliminary delimitation report was not tabled as envisioned in the law, to provide an opportunity for formal input by the political parties. The final delimitation report was tabled in parliament very late in the electoral process. This left little time to educate the public on changes to ward and constituency [house of assembly and senate] boundaries. Nominations + + + + + + + To strengthen nomination processes and practices, it is recommended that: The provisions of the law, which allow filing of papers before nomination day, should be used. Adequate funding should be allocated to the Electoral Commission to ensure efficient management of nomination processes. ZEC should ensure that citizens receive relevant education of the electoral process Timeous availability of information on ward and constituency boundaries so that nominees are identified from the correct wards and constituencies. Nomination procedures should be non-bureaucratic. Nomination papers should not be rejected on purely technical grounds, and prospective candidates must be given ample opportunity to rectify their papers if they are defective. Appeals against refusal of nomination should be dealt with promptly. Access to State Media + + To strengthen the voter education exercise, it is recommended that: ZEC avail adequate resources for voter education. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission should not have a monopoly over voter education. Anyone The electronic copies of the rolls which the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is obliged to furnish to political parties and others must be in a format that allows them to be analysed and compared. Accredited observer groups must also be furnished with electronic copies of the rolls. No fee should be charged for these copies. Polling agents and accredited observers at polling stations should be given access to printed copies of the rolls, free of charge. Delimitation Voter Education + should be allowed to provide it; the Commission’s supervisory role should be reduced to ensuring that voter education provided by other bodies is accurate. ZEC should work with civic groups to ensure national coverage with adequate voter education. Adequate monitoring mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that voter education is conducted in a uniform, professional and non-partisan manner. A comprehensive voter education and information exercise should be conducted in order to reduce cases of voters going to wrong polling stations or wards on voting day. Voters’ rolls + + Election Administration • • • • • • + Recommendations + Recommendations commission’s different activities. An alternative way of distributing functions between commissioners would be to give each commissioner the responsibility for a particular province. Method of appointment should ensure the impartiality, all-inclusiveness, competence and accountability of the body. The participation of opposition parties and key stake holders. The selection process of commissioners should be transparent and engender confidence in all stakeholders. These selection processes should also ensure that gender, special needs groups and youth participation or representation is achieved. + The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must be pro-active in monitoring news media during elections, to ensure that they abide by Part IVA of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act. The Commission should encourage the development of codes of conduct for the media. More broadcasters [independent radio and television stations] should be licensed. Public broadcasters should be obliged to “afford all political parties and independent candidates such free access to their broadcasting services as may be prescribed” in the law.