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President assents to electoral bills
The Herald
January 15, 2005

http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?id=39749&pubdate=2005-01-15

THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Bill and the Electoral Bill — which seek to reform the country’s electoral system in line with the Sadc principles and guidelines on democratic elections — are now law after President Mugabe assented to them.

The Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Misheck Sibanda, announced in a notice in yesterday’s Government Gazette that the President had signed into law the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Bill, the Electoral Bill and the Troubled Financial Institutions (Resolution) Bill.

The three Bills were recently approved by Parliament.

The President has also fixed January 14, as the date on which the Anti-Corruption Commission Act would become operational.

The Electoral Commission Act seeks to establish an independent electoral body to run all elections and referendums in the country.

The Electoral Act seeks among other things, to establish an Electoral Court to deal with all electoral disputes arising from an election. It will overhaul the previous Electoral Act and introduce a number of changes to the electoral system in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Sadc election guidelines, which are however, just guidelines and not a binding protocol.

Both Bills were passed by Parliament with some amendments some of them coming from the opposition MDC after a protracted debate.

The Troubled Financial Institutes (Resolution) Act seeks to provide a comprehensive legal framework for dealing with troubled banks and other financial institutions in a similar situation.

Some of the clauses in the Act stipulate that those provisions of the Labour Act with respect to retrenchment, dismissal or termination of employees shall not apply to any employee of any troubled financial institution following dismissal or retrenchment. The Act is designed to provide a clear cut legal framework, thereby boosting measures put in place by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in dealing with troubled financial institutions some of which have already been placed under curatorship. The Anti-Corruption Commission Bill was assented to by the President in November last year and seeks to establish a commission and corporate body whose mandate would be to promote the investigation of serious cases of corruption and fraud as well as making proposals for the elimination of corruption and its effect on society.

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