Leading elections watchdog, the Election Resource Centre (ERC), is set to make submissions to parliamentary committee on Justice and legal affairs on the state of readiness of the electoral management body, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), to conduct the forthcoming elections.
Zimbabwe will in the next five months hold harmonised elections to elect local government, parliamentary representatives as well as a new President. ZEC is currently in the process of cleaning voters’ roll following the conclusion of Biometric Voter Registration Blitz.
“On Thursday 8 March 2018, the Election Resource Centre (ERC) is set to appear before the Parliamentary Thematic Committee on Peace and Security, to make submissions on the state of preparedness of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to conduct the 2018 General Elections.
“The ERC was invited by the Thematic Committee on Peace and Security on 22 February 2018 following continued assessment of ZEC preparedness to deliver peaceful, free, fair and credible elections since the 2013 elections,” noted ERC in a statement released on Wednesday.
ERC has consistently engaged with ZEC and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission to apprise them on reports received from its national call centre platform.
“Fundamentally, ERC has positioned itself as a conduit of citizen electoral priority issues, a resource centre of electoral research findings and advocacy for comprehensive legislative, environmental and administrative electoral reform,” the ERC director, Tawanda Chimhini said.
Various advocacy issues have been brought to the attention of solution holders including the Parliament of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, and the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
In 2017 the ERC engaged the region particularly the Southern African Development Community, compelling the regional body to encourage the government of Zimbabwe to put in place measures that pave way for electoral democracy in the country.
