Story by Panashe Nagoli
THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) says Constitutional Amendment Act No. 3 will strengthen the country’s electoral management framework by streamlining operations and improving efficiency.
The amendment transfers voter registration, as well as the compilation and maintenance of the voters’ roll, to the Registrar-General’s Office while establishing the Zimbabwe Electoral Delimitation Commission.
The changes are expected to allow ZEC to focus on its core responsibilities of conducting elections and providing voter education.
ZEC Chief Elections Officer Mr Simbarashe Tongayi told ZBC News the new framework will enhance operational efficiency.
“The Constitutional Amendment Act Number 3 is a good law because it streamlines the core functions of the electoral management body to focus on two key issues: conducting free and fair elections and voter education. This improves operational efficiency and streamlines functions.
“The Registrar-General already has the necessary information required for the voters’ roll, so this improves efficiency because we were obtaining that information from them in any case,” he said.
Mr Tongayi said the establishment of a standalone Delimitation Commission will strengthen the credibility of boundary delimitation by bringing together specialised expertise.
“When it comes to a commission handling delimitation, if you look at countries such as Angola and South Africa, it helps because the Commission was handling too many responsibilities. The Delimitation Commission will have experts who understand the drawing of boundaries better,” he said.
Mr Tongayi also said ZEC is at an advanced stage of preparations for upcoming by-elections in four constituencies across the country.
“We have around four by-elections across the country, and we are at an advanced stage of preparations in terms of ballot paper design and printing. Election officers are already in place, so we expect everything to proceed smoothly,” he said.
Apart from conducting elections, ZEC will continue rolling out voter education programmes nationwide to keep citizens informed about electoral processes.
