“A pathway towards effective reforms must therefore, contain an agreed position on what is working and what is not, what should be reformed and why, how the reforms will be effected, timelines for delivery of the reforms and a monitoring framework to assess the functionality of the implemented reforms,” Tawanda Chimhini, ERC executive director said.
Chimhini said the implementation of reforms require urgent attention from government.
The ERC director insisted that the electoral reform process must be approached in an inclusive way in order to improve the quality of future elections.
Zimbabwe has always had contested elections and most people and region at large expected the July 31 2018 elections to be free from controversy, since they were held after the demise of the former late President Robert Mugabe who had always had disputed elections, however, the difference was the same.
Implementation of reforms require urgent attention from government and should be inclusively approached if the reforms are to satisfy their intentions, which include to improve the quality of future electoral and democratic processes.
ERC bemoaned lack of political will to implement the needed electoral reforms.
“The absence of a broad-based platform to consider reforms, one year after the disputed 2018 harmonized elections is reflective of limited sincerity and political will towards real and effective reforms,” Chimhini said, “The manner in which reforms are being considered, proposed and effected remains largely exclusionary and run the risk of being rejected by some election stakeholders to the detriment of future elections.”
ERC urged government to solicit public input in the reform process.
