HARARE - The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), a body that is supposed to supervise the country’s elections, is composed of state security agents and threatens the holding of credible elections, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai told a crowd of his supporters last week.
Similar statements were made by SADC Non Governmental Organisations when they met in Harare the same week. They called for more professionalism in the ZEC secretariat to ensure that the country’s elections would be credible. It took the current ZEC Secretariat well over a month to release the Presidential Election result in the 2008 synchronised elections. Many people now share the views of the NGOs and the MDC.
As 80 NGOs meeting in Vumba rightly noted, we still have the draconian Public Order and Security Act (POSA) which is being used by the police to stop the MDC from meeting with the people. Tsvangirai also castigated the uniformed forces who he accused of acting like an extension of Zanu (PF). “Zanu (PF) has been replaced by the CIO, soldiers and the police and these elements are destroying the aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe,” he said.
“Those elements do not want freedom for the people of Zimbabwe. We respect their institutions but they have to be professional and non-partisan.” Political Commentator, Alex Magaisa, said that there was need for reform before the country could hold a credible elections. “Both Zanu (PF) and the MDC-T may be talking big about their readiness for elections, but I suspect it’s just grandstanding. Deep down they both know that conditions are far from being suitable for an election,” said Magaisa.

By The Zimbabwean