The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has come under fire for claiming that the commission is neutral.
Last week ZEC was also accused of being a ZANU PF tool to fight the opposition after the commission conducted stakeholders’ engagement meetings without inviting MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa.
Posting on Twitter Thursday morning, ZEC said it is neutral in applying the laws made by the legislature. Read the tweet:
The first hallmark of Justice is upholding the law. Whatever it is Agree with it/Disagree with it. ZEC will uphold the law until it is changed. Misinformation and disinformation is subversion of democracy. Laws are changed in Parliament not by an Electoral Management Body.
ZEC is neutral in that it applies the law consistently.
In response, Alex Tawanda Magaisa, a law lecturer in the United Kingdom who is also a former Chief of Staff in the office of the late former Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai, said:
There’s no law that stops you from correcting your mistake. If anything you, as a reasonable referee, should have approached the court to fix your error. Now the people of Chegutu West have a loser for an MP courtesy of your “error” & you claim to be “upholding the law”?
You should take responsibility instead of pontificating about “upholding the law”. What law says a loser will be an MP? You failed in your duty as an elections management body. Anywhere else heads would roll. But you’re @ZECzim and what do you care about standards?
MDC Alliance activist, Pedzisayi Ruhanya questioned the independence of the electoral body after announcing a losing ZANU PF candidate as the winner in the 2018 Parliamentary elections. He said:
Why did you announce Dexter Nduna of ZANU PF as MP for Chegutu West after he lost the election to MDC Alliance’s Gift Konjana; which law allows you to do that? Can you do or did you ever do that against a winning ZANU PF candidate. You are a disgraceful election management body.
This is happening when Zimbabwe is scheduled to have general elections in 2023.
Stakeholders have been calling for the implementation of reforms to ensure a level playing field with Chamisa threatening to boycott the elections if ZEC is not reformed.
More: Pindula News