ZIFA presidential aspirant Patrick Hokonya has questioned the credibility of the upcoming election, saying the formation of the electoral committee, a body charged with running the association’s polls, was not done in a transparent manner.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
The former Zifa Central Soccer League chairman recently became the first local football administrator to publicly express interest in contesting for the Zifa presidency.
Hokonya, who is expected to challenge current boss Philip Chiyangwa, however, lamented the manner in which the Zifa electoral committee was formed.
Zifa recently announced that the association’s electoral committee, which is chaired by lawyer Vusilizwe Vuma, had held its maiden meeting and would soon roll out a roadmap for the polls, which will begin with elections at area zones.
Vuma will lead a nine-member team that includes his deputy Tinashe Tanyanyiwa, Sara Sumbureru, Charles Vhudzi, Shepherd Chamunorwa, Chenaimoyo Gumiro, Jonathan Chibvige, Liberty Mcijo and Reginald Chidawanyika.
Hokonya, however, expressed reservations over the credibility of the electoral committee, which was reportedly appointed during the Zifa AGM in February, whose legitimacy has been questioned amid allegations that it admitted delegates whose mandates had already ended.
“To say the elections are going to be free and fair is not correct since the whole process of nominating members of the electoral committee was not done in a transparent manner in the way it is prescribed in the constitution of Zifa.”
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Hokonya also questioned why there was no report of the congress appointing the electoral committee as required by the statutes.
“For instance, names have been put forward and an announcement is supposed to be made to all the football stakeholders before the names are ratified by the Zifa congress. Was that done and if it was done why did the Zifa secretariat not make an announcement to the footballing community that these are the names? Until recently we were only hearing rumours that so and so were in the electoral committee but no formal announcement was made since February.”
The football administrator called on the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) to take over the running of the upcoming Zifa poll, a move which is likely to draw the ire of world football governing body Fifa.
“You cannot entrust a flawed system to conduct a free and fair election. If anything, what we are calling upon now is for the SRC to take over the process. As the body that has been mandated according to the laws of the country to supervise over sporting bodies in Zimbabwe it would only be fair if they can take over the electoral process at Zifa.
Hokonya added: “There’s a crisis at Zifa, there’s no doubt about that and because of that we need neutral people. What we have seen is that the people who are running Zimbabwean football do not want to let go of power and that’s why they failed to hold elections when they were supposed to. What we need now are people who are neutral to oversee this process in a free and fair manner that will be accepted by everyone.”
