The appointment of Justice Simpson Mutambanengwe earlier this year as the new Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson has been welcomed by progressive people in Zimbabwe. The three parties in the inclusive government endorsed his choice and the nation expects much of him.
This is in the backdrop of the much-criticised performance of Justice George Chiweshe during his tenure at the head of the ZEC.
Chiweshe’s conduct led Zimbabweans to conclude that the elections body was an appendage of Zanu PF and Chiweshe himself was seen as Mugabe’s instrument who was supervising the conduct of elections on behalf of his master.
Zimbabweans wondered whether it would ever be possible for them to again hold a credible election with Chiweshe in charge.
Mutambanengwe has had an illustrious career at the bar spending the last decade presiding over the justice system in Namibia. This should stand him in good stead.
Recently at a Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network workshop he vowed to break with past practices that made Zimbabwe’s elections an exercise in futility.
He emphasised that under his stewardship ZEC would regain the respect of all parties by providing a level playing field for all political contestants to square-up without complaining.
Unlike his predecessors, Mutambanengwe is only too aware that disputed elections were of no use to a country that is desperate for stability. At the workshop he was forthright in his determination to disentangle ZEC from the past where it was seen as Mugabe’s rigging machinery.
Reacting to analysts’ grim assessment of Zimbabwe’s readiness for elections next year Mutambanengwe did not have time to defend ZEC for its past misdeeds. He said provided there was national will, ZEC could succeed where it failed in the past.
He also made it clear that his commission’s brief was simple: to deliver a free and fair election acceptable to all the contesting parties.
But this would all be wishful thinking if the retired judge does not have the iron will to resist the pressure from political parties that would rather see him pander to their whim.
He should make it clear to all and sundry that ZEC was not ready for the elections since the voters’ roll was in a shambles. Past elections have lacked credibility for this reason, among others.
But with Justice Mutambanengwe at ZEC, the era of Zanu PF patronage may be over.
The new ZEC boss should clearly preach the gospel of equal application of justice so that perpetrators of electoral violence know from the word go that no one is above the law and his body would treat all contesting parties equally.
While Justice Mutambanengwe has good intentions, it is however important to note that without the support of the inclusive government, his good intentions may just be wishful thinking.
ZEC is in dire need of resources to carry out its mandate. It requires several millions of dollars to come up with a clean voters’ roll. The current one, kept at the Registrar-General’s office, is replete with ghost voters and is as good as useless. The Ministry of Finance should loosen its purse strings and release funding for ZEC’s operations.
In the meantime, we applaud Justice Mutambanengwe for starting on a positive note.
We need to see more officials charged with steering the various commissions that are mandated to turn around the fortunes of Zimbabwe making similar commitments to carry out their work without fear or favour.
Among these commissions are the Human Rights Commission, the Zimbabwe Media Commission and the Anti-Corruption Commission. The time for figureheads who think their allegiance lies with those who appointed them is over.

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