Silaigwana appointment as chief elections officer ‘a disaster’: MDC

HARARE – Utoile Silaigwana was appointed elections officer by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on Thursday – sparking a volley of protests from the opposition MDC which accuses him of election manipulation while occupying the position on an acting basis.

The MDC’s secretary for elections Jacob Mafume described Silaigwana’s appointment as a “disaster”, and the International Crisis Group said his appointment showed that President Emmerson Mnangagwa was not committed to running transparent elections.

“This is a disaster, an indication that there is no willingness to reform,” Mafume said. “If at the outset ZEC cannot be completely truthful and transparent about his CV, how will it be transparent about the election?”

Piers Pigou, the International Crisis Group’s consultant for Southern Africa, said Silaigwana had a long track record of running sham elections.

“Very disappointing appointment,” Pigou said on Twitter. “It’s indicative that much reform in Mnangagwa’s administration is not real. This man from the military played a key role in violent 2008 elections that ZEC endorsed.”

David Coltart, the MDC’s secretary for finance, said while disappointed with the appointment, it was in keeping with what he described as “the elaborate smoke and mirrors game the Mnangagwa regime has employed since the November 2017 coup.”

“None of the key institutions necessary for democracy to take root have been changed materially,” Coltart said.

Silaigwana’s appointment was announced by ZEC chairperson Priscilla Chigumba in a statement.

She said Silaigwana had “17 years’ experience in election management” having served in the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC) between 2002 and 2005. When the ESC was disbanded in 2005, Silaigwana joined the newly-created ZEC as the director of voter education and public relations before assuming the role of deputy chief elections officer from 2007.

Silaigwana took over as acting chief elections officer in March 2018, and ran the disputed July 2018 election which the MDC says was rigged in favour of Mnangagwa.