By Takudzwa Changadeya
The Church has called upon the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to maintain transparency and honesty in announcing the results of the ongoing general elections.
This plea follows reports that have surfaced regarding the recall of polling officers and agents to their respective polling stations.
The Church has also urged the electoral body to provide regular updates and to keep the nation well-informed about the progress of vote counting and the announcement of results.
In a joint statement, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC), Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference (ZCBC) and Union for the Development of Apostolic Churches in Zimbabwe Africa (UDACIZA) said:
“The Church calls upon ZEC to be transparent, truthful, and speedy in announcing the results.
“This is even more important as we have received reports of polling officers and agents who have been recalled to polling stations.
“We further call ZEC to improve its communication, ensuring that the people of Zimbabwe are regularly updated and informed on the counting and announcement of results,” partly reads the statement.
The Church also called upon all political parties and other stakeholders to prioritize peace.
“As the nation awaits the announcement of all results, we call upon all Political parties and all stakeholders to continue amplifying and leading in promoting peace, love, patience, and calm.
“We remind all stakeholders that announcement of unverified results by Political parties puts the country at risk of conflict as it can incite supporters and citizens,” reads the statement.
The Church also expressed its concern regarding the perceived lack of preparedness exhibited by ZEC during the recent election.
“The Church however noted with concern the lack of preparedness of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) for the election as evidenced by failure of polling stations especially those in Harare and Bulawayo to open on time.
“It is worrisome to note that only 23% of the polling stations opened on time in most constituencies in Harare and Bulawayo. Some polling stations could not open for up to 2300 hours while some were not opened on the first polling day,” reads the statement.
Additionally, the Church said: “The above anomaly disenfranchised voters from polling stations which were opened late into the night. Some voters had to wait through the night to cast their vote. Women and the elderly were most affected as they felt insecure to walk at night to go to and from the polling stations.”
