We are always assessing our readiness to hold elections: ZEC
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson Priscilla Chigumba says her commission is always checking its readiness to hold elections every month.
The country is due for by-elections to replace about 40 Parliamentary seats that became vacant through recalls and death.
There are also many local authority seats that fall in the same category.
However, ZEC has not been able to conduct the by-elections due to COVID-19 regulations.
The regulations only permit certain types of gatherings, while barring many others.
Speaking to journalists in Chinhoyi, Chigumba said they have always had work plans that assess their readiness to hold elections.
‘’We also do what we call yearly work plans. Every month we assess our state of readiness to hold by-elections, every month we assess the state of readiness to hold the general elections.
‘’Every month we assess our readiness to conduct the delimitation exercise. So, what do we do? We work with what we call roadmaps.
‘’So ordinarily, we construct a road map that says what if the by-elections are going to be held by February, do we have ink, tick. Do we have ballot paper tick, do we have pens? Are the tents clean, yes? Have we counted the ballot boxes yes, do we have sanitiser?
‘’So really it’s an administrative exercise where we tick boxes to access the state of readiness,’’ she said.
It is currently not clear when the country will hold the by-elections. In previous interviews, one of the ZEC Commissioners Joyce Kazembe said they are waiting for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to proclaim the dates.
By-elections are topical in the country as some commentators are of the view that they will help solve the MDC power struggles.
MDC-T which is led by Douglas Mwonzora claims it has the most supporters, while MDC Alliance which is led by Nelson Chamisa claim the same.
We are always assessing our readiness to hold elections: ZEC
