via Electoral Amendment Bill sails through without public input May 29, 2014 in NewsDay by Veneranda Langa
THE Electoral Amendment Bill sailed through the National Assembly yesterday without amendment after Justice minister Emmerson Mnangagwa quashed all public views brought to the House by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs.
Mnangagwa though said his ministry had no objection in Parliament conducting public hearings before Bills were passed, but suggested that Parliament should explore other means of collecting views such as using their Website.
He also suggested that it was imperative for Bills to be translated into indigenous languages and that Parliament should consider introducing a department of translators to do the job.
While responding to suggestions by the public and the committee chaired by Harare West MP Jessie Majome (MDC-T), Mnangagwa said voter registration would remain constituency-based and proof of residence was essential in voter registration to enable the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) to strategically place polling stations and avert electoral fraud and double voting.
“Introduction of electronic voting is perceived as an infallible system, but what you are crying for is a system that can be hacked into, for example, in Kenya the system failed,” Mnangagwa said.
“To say that civil servants who are affiliated to a political party should not serve in the electoral process (Zec) is against the Constitution which says there should be freedom of association and we cannot deprive them of the right to affiliate to a political party of their choice, and it is not an offence for civil servants to belong to a political party – but it is an offence if civil servants act in a partisan manner.”
COMMENTS
That house is there to rubber stamp ZANU’ s nefarious activities. The MDC will never effectively oppose any of Zanu’s legislative shenanigans. Again I say ,walk out of that parliament of shame.Zimbabwe can not be sold out for a car.
Roving Ambassador I agree. All MDC are doing are becoming complicit in the continued downfall of Zimbabwe. But then again like ZPF all they are doing is thinking of themselves. Where is their leadership?
100% agreed!
Hence the increase in the number of soldiers and police in pass-out parades, busy increasing number of civil servants. We will lose nothing if opposition parties refuse to go into an election that is unfair. Zanupf has never won an election since 1980 when Britain cheated as it (Britain) admits. Opposition parties should unite on this.
Does any of this really matter? ZANU Pf acts and does just as they please anyway. The number of times that they have violated and ignored the constitution is testament to this, and they will continue to do as such until the people stand together as ONE, and actually say enough is enough. Until then, we can all scream and shout, jump up and down, cry and write what we want, but they will not listen and they will continue to do just as they please for as long as we sit and watch from our divided terraces! Tarisa muwone ALUTA CONTINUA!!!
Zimbabean inside zim must stand tall – and throw these people out of office – stop the talk and do some action.
That is democracy out to the dogs. Seems the entire parliament is ZANU PF. Shame on parliamentarians for being gigure heads.
THANKS TO OUR MODERNISIND AFRICAN ELITES! WHAT A GIFT FROM GOD! THEIR ROLE IS TO CIVILISE THE NATIVES! FROM A SMITH TO A BLACKSMITH!!WHITE SMITH STILL LIVES IN THEM!