Crisis Coalition to up Pressure on ZEC

By Tawanda Dewa 

Harare- Civil society organisations under the banner of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) met on July 16, 2018, to deliberate on electoral events ahead of Zimbabwe’s July 30 elections.

The meeting sought to come up with civil society actions that would enhance the credibility of the forthcoming polls.

According to representatives of member organisations that attended the meeting, free, fair and credible elections were considered at risk because of a number of irregularities that the groups said were emerging ahead of the polls.

There was consensus during the meeting that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) was the biggest impediment to credible polls due to its perceived unprofessional and partisan conduct.

“The CiZC members also agreed that ZEC cannot be entrusted to preside over credible polls hence the need to up pressure on the electoral body. Recently, ZEC through its acting Chief Elections Officer, torched a storm after they refuted claims of postal voting at a police station in Bulawayo yet police officers were actually voting under the watchful eye of their superiors who were reportedly directing them to vote for the ruling party, Zanu (PF).

“ZEC has also come under fire for lacking transparency on issues such as ballot paper printing, voters’ roll, polling stations as well as logistical issues related to the elections among other issues,” read a statement from CiZC.

In light of the challenges ahead of the polls, the CiZC membership resolved to amplify the voice of the ordinary citizen in demanding credible polls.

“This will be implemented through media campaigns on various platforms. The information campaign is also set to counter intimidation, especially in rural areas. The main thrust of the programme is to empower the ordinary citizen to demand free, fair and credible elections by providing them with a checklist that they will use to monitor the credibility of the polls. Information regarding discrepancies related to the 2018 elections will also be distributed to ordinary citizens around the country,” said CiZC