Last week MDC-T MP Settlement Chikwinya questioned Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede’s continuing role in the conduct of elections.
The Standard Editorial
Chikwinya, contributing to a debate on the voter registration exercise, revealed that Mudede, who is 67 years old and now past retirement age, was a hindrance to the holding of free and fair elections.
The debate is laudable but unfortunately comes a tad too late, as the country draws close to an election.
It is our considered belief that such a move to challenge Mudede’s continued mandate should have been raised much earlier and pursued with vigour throughout the tenure of the GNU.
Mudede is a denizen of Zimbabwe’s dark political past. He has been a key, yet controversial figure in the conduct of elections in this country for over two decades.
Democratic forces and the MDC-T largely regard Mudede as Zanu PF’s willing instrument of election rigging.
Successive legislative changes have sought to subtract Mudede’s role during elections but the bureaucrat has held firm and continues to exert undue influence in key processes.
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The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), which is the constitutional body entrusted with running elections in this country, has continually told the nation that the Registrar General now works under its direction. Mudede does not however appear to work under the mandate of the electoral body. The execution of the voter registration exercise is worrying ZEC chairperson Justice Rita Makarau who spoke out against the chaos last week. She is disheartened, so are thousands of voters who are disgusted by Mudede’s insistence that voters should produce affidavits to register. Justice Makarau’s concern is ample evidence that Mudede worships a different god from his supposed bosses at Zec. He is more than just a civil servant tasked with issuing registration and travel documents. Principals to the GNU should be warned that failure to deal with Mudede’s issue is the surest way to discredit the next election. This country deserves better.
