Oscar J Jeke
The National Election Reform Agenda has denounced plans by parliament to amend the Electoral Act, transferring two functions of the electoral board to the Registrar-General, citing that it jeopardises significant progress towards free and fair elections made in the past.
This comes as Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Kazembe Kazembe confirmed that there are ongoing consultations to amend the Constitution to transfer functions such as the voter registration and delimitation from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to the Civil Registry Office and an independent body respectively.
In a statement, NERA spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said that the organisation opposes such retrogressive moves noting that the people rejected that system in 2013 as well as the referendum in 2000.
“NERA unequivocally denounces these amendments for two primary reasons. Firstly, they represent a direct assault on the independence and effectively of electoral institutions.
“Removing functions from ZEC and reverting them to executive-appointed bodies such as the Registrar-General and the Delimitation Commission is a regressive step that compromises the democratic aspirations of the Zimbabwean people,” Mwonzora said.
The organisation also noted that the powers of the electoral body will be undermined and further worsen public trust of the institution as an independent body.
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