Press Statement
ZIMBABWE ELECTION SUPPORT NETWORK
NATIONAL DIALOGUE MUST RESULT IN COMPREHENSIVE ELECTORAL AND
POLITICAL REFORMS – ZESN
7 February 2019 – The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) notes the call by
President Emmerson Mnangagwa for dialogue with political parties that participated in
the 30 July 2018 harmonised elections. ZESN reiterates its position that the dialogue must
be inclusive of all electoral stakeholders namely civic society organisations, churches, the
media, women, persons with disability and youths among others.
Pursuant to calls by various electoral stakeholders for inclusive multi-stakeholder
dialogue on electoral and political reforms, ZESN believes that it is imperative for the
dialogue to culminate in an electoral and political reforms taskforce that will
expeditiously spearhead much needed reforms for future electoral processes. Below are
the key demands that ZESN insists need to be considered during the national dialogue
process:
Independence of ZEC
There is need to ensure the full independence of ZEC by reviewing clauses that
compromise and interfere with the administrative operations of the Commission by the
Executive in the administrative operations of the Commission. ZESN urges the ZEC to
adopt open data principles by making available pertinent information on electoral
processes in timely, easy to read, complete and analysable format. The legal framework
must be reviewed to ensure a more transparent results management and transmission
system. ZESN calls upon ZEC to ensure that any changes to election results are open to
observation by political parties.
Voter registration and the Voters roll
ZESN calls for the legal provisions that facilitate the ease of registration for urban voters
through the establishment of more permanent voter registration centres and ensure that
ZEC provides final copies of the voters roll to be used in polling stations to all political
parties and candidates. For future elections, ZEC must invest in procurement of
integrated systems that allow a single device to be used for multiple purposes such as
enrolling voters, verification of voters on election day and transmission of election
results.
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