Zimbabwe opposition is right – ZEC must disclose who is printing ballot papers for the elections

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must disclose who is printing the ballot papers for the coming elections because the law says it must provide this information to all political parties and candidates contesting the elections as well as all observers.

This has been the cry of opposition parties in the country although their motion that the adjudication of the tender to print the ballot papers must be agreed to by all parties was rejected in Parliament last week.

Zimbabwe has promised to hold free, fair, transparent and credible elections so it must make sure that it complies with all the legal requirements to enable it to return to the international fold.

The Electoral Amendment Bill which will guide the coming elections went through the lower House last week and is expected in the Senate on Tuesday.

Parliamentary watchdog, Veritas, said the new bill could become law by Friday or immediately thereafter.

Presidential spokesman George Charamba said the coming elections are about re-engagement and legitimacy.

“This election is about restoring international re-engagement and legitimacy; that is where we are. It must be flawless, it must be transparent, it must be free, it must be fair, it must meet international standards, it must be violence free and therefore it must be universally endorsed because it is an instrument of foreign policy. It’s about re-engagement and legitimacy; we are playing politics at a higher level,” Charamba said.

There have been claims that Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front leader Emmerson Mnangagwa will not win the coming elections unless he rigs them.

Movement for Democratic Change Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa even said that he would give Mnangagwa his 18-year-old sister as a wife if he wins 5 percent of the vote.

According to the Electoral Act, the ZEC must disclose the total number of ballot papers that have been printed for the election;   the number of ballot papers that have been distributed to each polling station; and must ensure that the number of ballot papers printed for any election does not exceed by more than ten per centum the number of registered voters eligible to vote in the election.

Below is a full explanation of what the law says about the printing of ballot papers for a general election:

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