fbpx
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsGeneral Laws Amendment Act falls short of expectations: ZESN

General Laws Amendment Act falls short of expectations: ZESN

www.263chat.com

The recently-gazetted General Laws Amendment Act (GLAA) falls short in addressing the shortcomings of the Electoral Act, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) has said.
In a statement, ZESN said the Act does not sufficiently address fundamental issues related to the Electoral Act such as the right to vote, the special vote, delimitation and media access among other issues.

“ZESN notes with concern that the GLAA offers piecemeal reforms and fails to align the most substantive provisions related to the Electoral Act to fully comply with the Constitution. This appears to be a result of the omnibus approach taken by the legislature to amend more than one hundred legislative instruments via the GLAA.

“ZESN reiterates its previously stated position that there is need for a comprehensive process of amending all the Electoral Laws and bring them into conformity with the Constitution as well as regional guidelines on good governance and elections,” reads part of the statement.

The nonprofit making organization which has a mandate to oversee the running of elections in the country, said the proposed changes also fail to meet the new constitutional dispensation on management of the voters’ roll.

Emirates

ZESN said the amendments do not conform to the Constitution to the extent that the Act requires the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to share responsibilities with the Office of the Registrar-General of Votes, an office that is effectively abolished by the Constitution and the Act

ALSO ON 263Chat:  Necessity The Mother Of Invention

“The major concern and misgiving regarding the General Laws Amendment Act is the fact that it does not seem to vest the Commission with a clear and exclusive mandate to manage elections in the letter and spirit of the constitution.

“Besides, the minor changes to the Electoral Act such as re-referencing and changing titles of offices, the general assessment is that the Act does not adequately align the most crucial and substantive provisions in order for it to fully comply with Constitutional guarantees and maintains the undesirable trend of taking a piecemeal approach to amending the electoral Act,” the statement further argues
The civic organization said it continues to call for the full alignment of the electoral laws with the Constitution and for the creation of a conducive electoral environment as the country gears for the 2018 harmonized elections.

GLAA is an omnibus law that introduces some amendments to various laws, including the Electoral Act, to bring them into alignment with the Constitution adopted in 2013.

Share this article
Written by

Multi-award winning journalist/photojournalist with keen interests in politics, youth, child rights, women and development issues. Follow Lovejoy On Twitter @L_JayMut

No comments

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

You cannot copy content of this page