The Sunday News
Lulu Brenda Harris, Sunday News Correspondent
THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) is concerned about the increased level of violence directed to it by political parties.
Giving an update on electoral processes to the media on Friday evening in Bulawayo, Zec Commissioner, Dr Qhubani Moyo said the commission was facing unwarranted violence from political players who did not agree with its modus operandi.
Although the commission was impressed that no violence had taken place between political parties, it was more worried at the violence directed at the commission.
“Most importantly no violence has happened except the one we saw at White City Stadium still under investigations, which Zec condemned. We have not seen any incidents of violence, there has been little, if any of violence recorded of political parties. The only violence that was visible was during primaries, after that we haven’t seen any defined violence compared to previous years,” said the commissioner.
However, Dr Moyo lamented that Zec has witnessed serious violence against the commission to the extent that chairperson, Justice Priscilla Chigumba, was targeted individually by politicians.
“We have obviously seen violence against the commission, very, very serious violence against the commission. Violence in that there are certain political players that want the commission not to do its work and in so doing they have targeted our chairperson in her capacity as a woman. In their demonstrations we have seen heinous acts that are unacceptable where they come in and label her hure (prostitute),” he noted.
Such behaviour, Dr Moyo said was wrong because Justice Chigumba was doing her job and more worrying is that no one has condemned the sexism.
“We’ve not had much condemnation against that kind of behaviour, even from across the political divide and from the media.
Even if she is the Zec chairperson, it does not give anyone the power or authority to call Justice Chigumba in such derogatory terms. We are actually shocked no one has spoken out against it even if you don’t agree with Zec.”
He said of late, there is a growing trend where some individuals are becoming sexist and misogynist in nature against prominent women.
“Is this the kind of behaviour we want to treat institutions and our women? We have also seen this violence in public engagements where emotional violence is so high against the commissioners, especially when we want to engage and inform the public but as you stand you are defined in all sorts of names and words.
“Even where you disagree do so with etiquette and facts in a very civil way. We can’t have a situation where insults of such nature become acceptable, promoted, sanctified to the extent they are worshipped. You have a situation where you are against a trail of women that disagree with you, inside your own parties they are defined hure, outside your parties hure again and it just becomes like that, no! This is not the kind of Zimbabwe we want, we are better than that,” Dr Moyo said.
Turning to the issue of postal votes, the commissioner emphasised both political parties and the media had to equip themselves with the Electoral Act.
“What is crucial is the Chief Elections Officer sends them (postal ballots) within a certain period of time and he expects them to be back 14 days before the actual day of polling. In this case actual day of polling is July 30 and as such postal ballots must be back at the commission by July 16, if they are to be considered as valid ballots. The Chief Elections Officer does not have to know at what stage the individuals would be voting.
Those voting can decide to vote at whatever day as there is no standard time set like the general election. What is crucial is that postal votes are supposed to come back to Zec two weeks before actual day of polling. Because the postal vote is meant for the individual there is no requirement for the commission to be present during the actual time of voting,” the commissioner noted.
There is also no requirement for political parties to send agents because postal voting is done by the individual in their time, Dr Moyo added.
The commissioner said when the postal votes reach the Chief Elections Officer they are kept and distributed to the various polling stations where the officers were initially registered.
“On the election day, when we start elections each polling station will check how many people did postal voting and those people are then struck off the voters roll whose ballots are counted together with the rest of the ballots cast at that particular polling station on that particular day. What you are seeing now in the media about postal ballots already being opened and that this candidate has such votes is untrue, it is part of the misinformation structure,” he argued.
