The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance Presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa has said President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) were not sincere on the provisional voters roll which the electoral body claimed had released via its website, a couple of days ago.
In an interview with a local daily paper last week, ZEC boss Justice Priscilla Chigumba revealed that the provisional voters roll had been made available on the electoral body’s website but a visit of to the website reveals otherwise.
Chigumba said the electoral body had not denied the opposition an opportunity to access to the voters’ roll.
However, this morning Chamisa posted on his Twitter blog that ZEC boss had lied that the voters roll had been availed.
“This particular falsehood cannot go unchallenged. No such link has been provided by ZEC,” said Chamisa.
“The time of railroading our people into sham elections is over Mr Mnangagwa. ZEC cannot publicly mislead the nation and expect us to carry on business as usual.”
Former Minister of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture in the Government of National Unity (GNU), David Coltart, pointed-out mistrust with the electoral mother body citing Justice Chigumba as a liability to fair, free and credible elections.
“I am afraid that Judge Chigumba was chosen because of her close links to the military. She is not independent. We have said this time and time again. President Mnangagwa had many other competent people to choose from. His choice was deliberate,” said Coltart in a post on his Twitter blog.
Regardless of being established as a non-partisan entity in the country, ZEC has been criticised for siding with the ruling party; ZANU PF a relationship Coltart argues explains the government’s close ties with the judiciary.
“The problem about court challenges is that even recent cases have shown that the Courts are by and largely subservient to the Executive. One should only go to court to make a statement – there is little likelihood of them actually ruling correctly,” said Coltart.
