By Kudzaishe Chimonera
A local organization under the banner of the Zimbabwe Citizens Forum has come out in support of the Constitutional Amendment Bill number 3 saying it will avoid disputes.
Speaking during a press conference in Harare, the forum’s national coordinator Taurai Kandishaya said disputes have become a recurring feature of the country’s electoral history.
“The problem that we have is that since year 2000 every presidential election has faced disputes. 2002 disputed, 2008 disputed, which ended up with us having Unity Government.
“2013 court challenges, 2018 Motlanthe Commission alleged that they were soldiers on the streets, 2023 opposition rejects results, wrote a letter to SADC promised its members to keep their national identity cards safe because SADC was coming for re-run,” he said.
Kandishaya argued that Zimbabwe’s current winner-takes-all electoral system leaves losing parties with no stake in governance, increasing political tensions.
“Direct winner takes all elections, leave losing parties with nothing this fuels disputes, delays progress and creates tension,” he said.
He said a proposed constitutional amendment seeks to address these concerns by introducing an electoral college system.
“The Bill seeks to align it in this way, it allows parliament, the board you elect to choose the president. After elections your MPs from an electoral college they debate, negotiate, and vote majority wins simple democratic transparent,” he said.
According to Kandishaya, the model could reduce post-election disputes by shifting the final decision to elected representatives rather than relying solely on the popular vote.
He pointed to the system used in the United States of America as an example, where the electoral college determines the presidency.
“We go to the United States of America that is believed to be the mother of democracy, it’s not the popular vote that counts. The other election someone had popular vote, the other one had the electoral colleges, the one with electoral colleges became the president, the one with popular vote lost the elections.
“So in as much as we praise the democracy of America, I think this parliament, l think the present day system deserves an apology for copying exactly what you dream for,” he said.
The proposals come amid ongoing debate over electoral reforms in Zimbabwe with critics and supporters divided on whether structural changes could help reduce disputes or further complicate the democratic process.
