THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has drafted recommendations to compel political parties to be formally registered to make them more accountable and plug loopholes affecting the flawless administration of polls.
ZEC chairperson, Justice Priscilla Chigumba said the chaos surrounding the 2023 harmonised plebiscites, which saw numerous court battles can be avoided if political establishments are formally registered.
Confusion engulfed the opposition Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) after double candidatures emerged in some constituencies due to infighting.
During last year’s shambolic polls which were fraught with irregularities as outlined by the Southern African Development Community Elections Observer Mission (SEOM), appeals over candidatures, going as far as the eve of elections, delayed the printing of ballot papers resulting in voters being disenfranchised at some polling stations.
In her address during a joint induction workshop of the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Thematic Committee on Human Rights in Bulawayo at the weekend, Chigumba underscored the need for party registration.
“To solve the chaos around the nomination process, I made two recommendations: to register political parties or give time limits on electoral court challenges. This means the electoral court will not accept any court challenges 30 days before election day,” she said.
“The problem in Zimbabwe, as part of the electoral law, is that we have no legislation on the registration of political parties. What we have are individuals notifying ZEC that they have established a political party and requesting to be added to the database.”
The ZEC boss said there is a lack of appetite to have political formations legally registered, a situation which means no one is held responsible when individuals belonging to a political grouping make decisions. In Zimbabwe, political groupings and their representatives can only be held accountable when they have successfully filed nomination papers.
“There is no political will to register political parties. It is only at the Nomination Court that ZEC has an opportunity to legally engage political parties. During the Nomination Court process, you find a lot of chaos around the nomination procedure because this is where candidates comply with laid-down procedures,” she said.
In some countries, political parties are registered like companies, making them more accountable and risk deregistration if they violate the provisions of their listing.
