A list of SADC EOM Criticisms and Recommendations on Zim Elections #ElectionsZW
Courtesy of Veritas Zimbabwe
Brief Summary of the Missions main Criticisms and Recommendations
The Mission made the following criticisms of the elections:
∙ The delimitation of constituencies, the Mission suggested, was flawed in that constituencies varied by more than the 20 per cent permitted by section 161(6) of the Constitution.
∙ The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission [ZEC] failed to make voters rolls available in good time to contesting parties, violating section 21 of the Electoral Act and the constitutional requirement that elections be transparent and fair.
∙ There were reports that opposition CCC meetings were unreasonably cancelled by the Police.
∙ The “Patriotic Act” amendment to the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act was incompatible with section 61(1) of the Constitution and paragraph 4.1.2 of the SADC Principles and Guidelines.
∙ High nomination fees may have discouraged less well-off people, including women, from standing as candidates, in violation of paragraph 4.1.7 of the SADC Principles and Guidelines.
∙ State media – press and broadcasting – favoured one political party over the others, contrary to the Constitution, the Electoral Act and the SADC Principles and Guidelines.
The Mission made the following recommendations:
∙ ZEC was advised to abide strictly by the Constitution on transparency and access to information, and to avail the voters roll in accordance with the Electoral Act.
∙ Laws requiring State-owned media to be impartial should be implemented.
∙ ZEC was advised to revise the nomination fees.
∙ ZEC was urged to strengthen transparency in the procurement and distribution of voting materials.
∙ Measures to enhance the participation of women as candidates should be put in place quickly by the next Parliament.
All these criticisms and recommendations fall well within the Mission’s mandate which we outlined earlier.
