Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda says he is disappointed by delays in amending the country’s electoral laws which were mooted in 2021.
Election stakeholders in Zimbabwe are of the view that the current electoral laws must be amended to enable the country to hold credible, free, and fair elections.
Zimbabwe is set to hold general elections in 2023 and there are various amendments that have been proposed by civic society organisations and election observers.
Speaking recently, Mudenda said he was disappointed that the proposed amendments have taken long to reach Parliament.
He said it was time of moving from talk shows into real action.
‘’I must commend the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) which has not been sitting idly. I was pleased to learn of the amendments they intend to make to the electoral law during the Post Legislative Review Workshop hosted by the Parliamentary Legal Committee and the Law Development Commission held in Kariba in June 2021.
‘’However, to my utter disappointment it is now almost 12 months and no purported amendments have been tabled before Parliament.
‘’We must move from mere talk shows and take further steps to make sure that Parliament is seized with these reforms before the 2023 harmonised elections,’’ he said.
ZEC chairperson Priscilla Chigumba is on record arguing that her institution has no capacity to come up with its reforms.
She said those that desire electoral reforms should engage their legislators on the matter, as Parliament is the only platform of making laws in the country.
Opposition parties such as the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) which is led by Nelson Chamisa have been instrumental in calling for reforms.
It is believed that the previous elections in Zimbabwe since 2000 when the opposition MDC was formed, have failed the test of credibility due to violence and allegations of rigging.
The opposition is of the view that ZEC rig the election for the ruling party Zanu PF. According to some observers, there is too much military personnel at ZEC which compromises its ability to be fair. -OpenparlyZw
