Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) that met with the SADC Electoral Advisory Council (SEAC) on Friday last week at the Rainbow Towers expressed lack of confidence in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
Zimbabwe Association of Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Offender (ZACRO) director, Edson Chihota, passed a complaint over how ZEC prescribes the role that CSOs should play during elections. He said such interference erodes confidence of the electorate.
An attendant at the meeting asked the council to evaluate the efficiency of ZEC stating that 112 political parties are alleged to have registered to run in the forthcoming elections yet it is very questionable if ZEC will manage to handle the numbers and still guarantee credible elections.
In response to concerns raised over the capabilities of ZEC, SEAC chairperson, Advocate Leshele Thohlane, said “We have met ZEC and they told us their structures, processes and limitations. What we have also been made aware of how the voters’ roll is contentious.”
Advocate Thohlane added that in spite of all this, they wanted to know the role that civil society is playing towards nation building.
The Pre-election Goodwill Mission acknowledged that civil society feels a vacuum with regards to ensuring accountability of democratic processes.
He added that SEAC serves to assess the readiness of a country expected to hold elections and submits a report to SADC as it is the role of the council to ensure free and fair elections.
SEAC has the mandate of establishing whether socio-economic and political environment is conducive for holding elections. To fulfil this mandate Advocate Thohlane said they sit and listen to civil society as these are the foot soldiers documenting processes.
