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Preliminary
report on Chikomba & Rushinga Parliamentary By-Election &
Rural District Council elections
Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN)
October 05, 2006
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Introduction
The Chikomba and Rushinga parliamentary
by-elections, both of which ZESN will be observing, will be held
on the 7th of October 2006 following the deaths of ZANU
PF legislators Tichaona Jokonya and Sandura Machirori. The two had
been elected Members of Parliament for these constituencies respectively,
in the March 2005 general elections.
Candidates from the ruling
ZANU PF and the opposition MDC party will contest both by-elections.
Stephen Chiurayi of ZANU PF and Moses Jiri of the anti-senate faction
of the MDC will battle for the Chikomba parliamentary seat. Chiurayi
is the ZANU PF Deputy Chairperson for Mashonaland East while Jiri
is a businessman in Chivhu, the major town in the constituency.
Mr Jiri also unsuccessfully contested for the same seat in 2000
under a United Parties ticket.
Meanwhile, in Rushinga Lazarus
Dokora, the former ZANU PF Member of Parliament for the same constituency,
will contest against Kudakwashe Chideya of the anti-senate MDC.
Chideya is a former MDC youth chairperson for Rushinga. The pro-senate
MDC, which had vowed to contest every election when it was formed,
did not field any candidates.
Both Rushinga and Chikomba
are located in the rural areas of Mashonaland Central and East respectively.
These provinces are traditional ZANU PF strongholds in which the
opposition MDC has never won any major election or by-election since
2000. Previously these provinces have been described as ‘no go’
areas for the opposition and civic organisations.
Methodology
This report is
based on information collected from field visits conducted by the
ZESN secretariat as well as information provided by ZESN members
resident in both constituencies. It is also based on media reports
in both the electronic and print media.
Legal framework
of these elections
These by-elections will
be the second to be held under the sole management and supervision
of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission following the adoption of the
Constitutional Amendment (No. 17) Act. The seven Commissioners were
appointed on 17 May 2006. After the Parliamentary by-election in
Budiriro, ZEC admitted that as a newly established body, it is still
on a learning curve. ZEC’s primary function is to prepare for,
conduct and supervise all elections and to ensure that such elections
are conducted freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with
the law. It is hoped that going into these elections, the Commission’s
state of preparedness is adequate.
Delimitation
For the purpose of this
election no delimitation exercise was conducted and therefore the
election will be held using the constituency boundaries that were
drawn by the Delimitation Commission prior to the March 2005 election.
Registration
of voters and the Voters Roll
The Registrar of Voters
remains involved in elections, as his office is responsible for
voter registration, albeit under ZEC’s supervision. The ZEC is also
in charge of the compilation of voters’ rolls and registers and
ensuring the proper custody and maintenance of the same.
The office of the Registrar
by its own admission has failed to conduct mobile registration of
voters this year citing the lack of adequate funds. Only static
registration has been in progress. This is inadequate in ZESN’s
view. With offices centralized and mainly located in urban areas,
voter registration is therefore not easily accessible to the majority
of Zimbabweans, who are resident in the rural areas.
It is of paramount importance
for continuous voter registration to be conducted as provided in
our laws. This will give persons who, were previously unregistered,
who changed residence or who turned 18 years the chance to register.
ZESN therefore questions whether effective voter registration has
been done. Citizens who have been unable to register will be denied
the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. An all-inclusive
voters’ roll is the basis of any democratic free and fair election.
The compilation and maintenance of the voter’s roll should be done
in such a way as to enable the realisation of people’s democratic
rights. ZESN therefore urges the ZEC to effectively perform its
statutory duty to oversee the functions of the Registrar-General
of Voters.
ZESN calls for the decentralisation
of registration to district level to be completed speedily. It further
continues to urge government to wholly transfer the functions of
the Registrar of Voters to the ZEC.
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