Opposition political parties in Zimbabwe have welcomed a proposal from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to require all political parties to be legally registered through an amendment to the Electoral Act.
Under the current law, political parties only need to inform the ZEC of their existence without going through a formal registration process.
In an interview this week, ZEC Chief Elections Officer Utloile Silaigwana said the registration of political parties was one of the recommendations made during the recently concluded annual conference. Said Silaigwana (via NewsDay):
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission would like to express its gratitude to stakeholders for the successful conduct of the post-2023 harmonised elections review conference in Nyanga recently.
The goal of the conference was to reflect on the 2023 harmonised elections in order to adequately prepare for the 2028 electoral cycle. The overarching guiding questions at the conference interrogated what worked well and what did not.
The conference came up with recommendations to improve the legal framework governing the country’s elections and the administrative framework.
It is hoped that these recommendations, including the one that seeks the registration and regulation of political parties become part of the electoral law.
Promise Mkwananzi, the spokesperson for one of the three factions of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), said the registration of parties would assist in resolving disputes regarding the leadership of political parties. He said:
We await the proposed modalities. What we want is an enabling environment for multiparty democracy and an end to stealing [Nelson] Chamisa’s parties by ZANU PF stooges and mercenaries.
All MPs and councillors elected through Chamisa’s ticket must be answerable to Chamisa’s party and the political finance due to him and his party must be duly disbursed to him and his party.
If the registration achieves this end and removes any chance for the masquerades, then it will be desirable.
What we do not want is a registration process that seeks to stifle rather than facilitate multipartysm, that gives political parties the latitude to define their own internal democracy and systems not prescribe for them or seek to impose or influence who their leaders will be and how they should lead.
Lloyd Damba, the spokesperson for Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) president Douglas Mwonzora, said there is nothing objectionable about the registration of political parties. He said:
In other countries within Africa, we have similar laws that require the registration of political parties, in particular Kenya. They have their reasons for that and I do not see anything wrong with that particular move.
It becomes sinister when a body that is not mandated by any law to advocate for the registration of political parties when its duties are clearly stipulated in the Constitution [sic].
They want politics to be a game of the rich in particular those that are looting mineral resources and tenderprenuers.
Meanwhile, Silaigwana urged Zimbabweans to move past the 2023 harmonised elections and concentrate on the upcoming 2024-28 electoral cycle.
He said those with grievances should seek resolution through appropriate channels, such as Parliament and the courts, while the commission maintains its right to address any serious allegations made against it.
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