The appointment of the daughter of ZANU PF vice-president Kembo Mohadi with his ex-wife Senator Tambudzani Mohadi, Abigail Millicent Mohadi Ambrose, as a commissioner of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) undermines the Commission’s credibility, a report claims.
Ambrose’s appointment has been criticised by civil society organisations and opposition parties which have described the move as scandalous.
Even though Senator Mohadi recused herself from interviewing her daughter, the Beitbridge senator actively participated and even scored the other interviewees.
A new report by the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute (ZDI) titled Mohadi Appointment – Consolidation of ZEC’s Capture by ZANU PF says:
The politically designed appointment adds to other manipulation ingredients such as the appointment of retired security officials in the secretariat of ZEC.
We argue that the appointment of Mohadi to ZEC shows that ZANU PF is solidifying its capture and infiltration.
The appointment of a daughter of ZANU PF vice-president at a time when the constituency delimitation process is ready to takeoff raises more questions.
ZEC chairperson Priscilla Chigumba said the newly six appointed commissioners will be deployed to provinces to oversee the delimitation process.
According to ZDI, the appointment of Ambrose and retired military personnel to the ZEC secretariat raises conflict of interest issues. The report says:
The fact that Abigail Millicent Mohadi Ambrose’s father Kembo Mohadi is an interested party in Zimbabwe’s elections is enough to dismiss her appointment as part of a patron-client relationship which is detrimental to the conduct of credible elections in Zimbabwe.
… Thus, she cannot be an independent commissioner as she is supposed to be, in electoral processes involving her father who is a deputy president of the ZANU PF party – an election contestant.
This conflict of interest also applies to the military personnel who serve in ZEC and are conflicted on the basis of their historical links with Zanu PF whereby both Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) forces – now the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), were military wings affiliated to Zanu and PF ZAPU – now ZANU PF.
More: The NewsHawks