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Pre-election statement on Chikomba & Rushinga parliamentary by-elections and Rural District Council elections
Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN)
October 05, 2006

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network is concerned that the Chikomba and Rushinga Parliamentary by-elections and rural district council elections scheduled for the 7th of October 2006, will be held in the wake of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe's ruling that the country's Electoral Court is unconstitutional. In July of this year, the Supreme Court struck down a provision of the Electoral Act that allowed the Chief Justice to name judges of the Electoral Court, which was set up in early 2005.

This decision creates a void for all candidates contesting in the forthcoming weekend poll. This gap implies that there would be no effective legal recourse for any complaints arising from the polls, apart from the ordinary courts. There are still many pending electoral cases before the courts. ZESN is concerned that the law is still to be rectified in order to bring it in line with the Supreme Court ruling and the country's Constitution. A speedy and effective electoral dispute resolution mechanism is a key process of nurturing democracy. ZESN urges government to engage all stakeholders and to work with speed to resolve this issue.

The Network is also concerned by the inadequate voter registration in preparation for this election. The Registrar of Voters 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 and is costly to the majority of citizens, who are resident in these rural constituencies.

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. 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 government to give the full responsibility of the voters roll compilation, update and maintenance to ZEC. There is also urgent need to overhaul the entire voters roll.

Also of note is the fact that Rushinga and Chikomba are also going to have rural district elections on the same date against a background of many complaints. Amongst these complaints noted by our observers and also raised by the by the opposition and independent candidates is the new qualification requirements put in place for nomination.
The requirement for producing police clearance puts a lengthy and costly obstacle into the path of any aspiring candidate. In view of the lack of facilities in the rural areas, it is only reasonable to deduce that many candidates would fail to meet these requirements. Further, the role given to traditional chiefs of "vetting" candidates seems calculated to discriminate against some aspiring candidates as these chiefs have in the past openly shown their alignment and loyalty to the ruling party.

ZESN condemns these cumbersome, costly and lengthy requirements for nomination procedures, which should be done away with in order to facilitate the right to stand for office of any eligible Zimbabwean.

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