HARARE – The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has declined to condemn the partisan declaration by army commander, Lieutenant General Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe, who vowed recently to subvert the country’s constitution and electoral processes to keep Zanu PF in power.
Speaking at a Zanu PF rally in Nyanga North constituency, Sanyatwe said the military will enforce “command voting” in future elections, a barefaced declaration they will use force to coerce Zimbabweans to cast their ballots in the ruling party’s favour.
The controversial army boss further affirmed Zanu PF will rule “until donkeys grow horns”, meaning even a poll defeat will never remove it from power.
His unconstitutional declaration elicited public outrage and criticism from election watchdogs, civic society and human rights defenders who have been up in arms over the military’s continued interference with national politics.
In a letter to ZEC chairperson Priscilla Chigumba, lawyer and human rights advocate Thabani Mpofu demanded that the electoral body publicly disassociates itself with the military boss’s assertion and assure the public that it is not complicit with plans to undermine the supreme law of the country.
Mpofu argued that ZEC’s silence over Sanyatwe’s comments only jeopardises the integrity of the country’s electoral processes.
He then requested that ZEC publicly states its position of the utterances and further assure the public it is not complicit in plans to undermine the will of the people.
ZEC, in its response, said it had no jurisdiction to condemn Sanyatwe’s statement, citing that the investigation and prosecution of electoral offences are the responsibility of the police and the National Prosecuting Authority.
The electoral body, widely condemned for its own part in alleged poll rigging, said it could only condemn Sanyatwe if a thorough investigation had been conducted and a conviction has been secured through the legally prescribed procedures.
“The (ZEC) Commission feels that it cannot condemn an alleged act of electoral malpractice pending proper investigation and conviction using the procedures prescribed by law,” Chief Elections Officer Utloile Silaigwana said.
The controversy surrounding Sanyatwe’s remarks has renewed public concerns over the integrity of Zimbabwe’s electoral process with poll watchdog, Election Resource Centre blaming comments from partisan security chiefs for continued voter apathy.
Mpofu said Sanyatwe’s comments that the army will assist Zanu PF to rig the election violated Section 155 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13).
