NERA met ZEC

Monday the political parties in NERA had a no holds barred meeting with ZEC in Harare.

Three issues took centre stage: The diaspora vote, voter registration and the ZEC secretariat. The ZEC chairperson stated that ZEC had no problem with diaspora vote because the constitution provided that every Zimbabwean had the right to vote.

However NERA reiterated that ZEC must establish voter registration facilities for the Zimbabweans in the diaspora.

These facilities must be in designated places within the diaspora. The voting must take place right there in the diaspora.

This issue was therefore not exhausted. On voter registration, ZEC advised that there will be polling station based Bio-Metric Voter Registration.

To that end ZEC undertook to avail a detailed schedule of the voter registration program to all stakeholders for discussion before implementation.

NERA demanded that there must be monitors of the voter registration program. The issue of monitors was deferred to the next meeting.

NERA submitted that the members of the security services who are part of the ZEC secretariat must be removed.

The ZEC chairperson admitted that there were members of the security services within ZEC but argued that ZEC's hands were tied because these officers had contracts of employment with ZEC.

She invited the political parties to address the legal issues on how to deal with these employees on the next meeting.

A legal brief is thus being prepared for discussion in the next meeting.