NIKUV leaks vindicates the PDP
By Jacob Mafume
On the 6th of June 2017, the People’s Democratic Party expressed its concern on the way ZEC was handling the procurement of the BVR equipment.
We highlighted that the public outcry over the allocation of the BVR tender to Laxton was mainly motivated by the view that ZEC is operating under the armpits of ZANU PF,therefore their actions would be directly linked to a ploy to redeploy ZANU PF into office against the will of the masses.
In our submissions we highlighted our awareness of the fact ZEC is manned by many Securocratic characters, some are responsible for perpetrating violent repressive acts against the people of Zimbabwe.
We also made the point that the Commissioners themselves have previously occupied political positions on ZANUPF tickets including the Chairperson of the Commission Justice Makarau.
The Constitution of Zimbabwe in Section 238(2) provides that the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission be someone who is a Judge or a former Judge. The principle is that a Judge must be someone who is beyond reproach like Caesar’s wife certainly this theory has been exposed by Makarau who has since reflected her preparedness to lose the last aorta of integrity just to serve the ZANUPF agenda.
Most of ZEC’s employees were recruited under a military leadership when Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, a staunch Mugabe supporter was chief elections officer during a period when elections were still run by the Election Supervisory Committee, ZEC’s predecessor.
We stated in our statement that these factors mean the Electoral Authority is conflicted making it impossible for the opposition to believe ZEC is independently making the preparations for voter registration.
The subject of our statement was that running elections is a matter of trust from the masses, lack of trust results in a disputed outcome of the plebiscite which breeds a crisis of legitimacy in the leadership.
A crisis of legitimacy is one that bred the multi-crises that Zimbabwe is facing today including the economic meltdown and the disappearance of government capacity to deliver social services like Health and Education.
ZEC’s unrepentant behaviour is a clear indicator of a continued crisis of legitimacy which Zimbabweans must collectively reject as a way to stop the unpalatable suffering that the people have been exposed to for the past three decades.
About the leaked information of ZEC’s intentions to hire an alternative company to manage voter’s roll data, the PDP in the June statement mentioned the fact that technical issues around data servers procurement, storage and monitoring remained obscured.
We specifically mentioned the probability of conniving with election rigging agencies like NIKUV which puts voters roll data at the risk of manipulation. The development mentioned in today’s Newsday vindicates our claim.
We are therefore concerned when ZEC is already linked to NIKUV as this will perpetuate cycles of rigged and disputed elections in the country and the rule by an unpopular elite whose basis of existence is coercion and fear.
As we mention in the Agenda for Restoration and Rehabilitation of Electoral Sustainability (ARREST) the way ZEC has handled elections has killed belief in electoral processes as a key component of a constitutional democracy.
We therefore demand an Independent Electoral Board at the least an overhaul of the electoral authority in ARREST we mentioned the idea that the AU and SADC must oversee the next election. Only an independent board will restore the people’s right to elect their governors enshrined in Section 67 of the constitution.
Together Another Zimbabwe is Possible
Jacob Mafume
PDP Spokesperson
