MDC spokesperson Lloyd Damba denounced announcements by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi, that the government was transferring the tasks of drawing ward and constituency boundaries from the Electoral Commission of Zimbabwe (Zec) at the Civil Registration Department.

The Douglas Mwonzora-led MDC has accused the ruling Zanu PF and the Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) of reversing the progress made over the years under the era of late Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

In a statement, MDC spokesperson Lloyd Damba denounced announcements by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi, that the government was transferring the tasks of drawing the boundaries of neighborhoods and constituencies from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) to the Department of Civil Registration.

Ziyambi also revealed last week that the Civil Registration Department would also handle voter registration using information from people’s ID cards to automatically register them, especially when a person reaches the age 18.

“This means Zanu-PF is bringing back the old Lancaster House Constitution and reviving Tobaiwa Mudede and the dreaded National Elections Directorate,” Damba said.

“The use of these bodies was one of the fundamental reforms that the MDC fought for until we had the current Zec system.

“The current generation of CCC MPs are colluding with Zanu-PF to roll back the electoral reform gains we demanded during the constitution-making process.

“Now they want to give power back to the Executive to hold elections, which we refused due to the problem of ghost voters.”

However, CCC spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi yesterday dismissed Damba’s claims, adding that their aim was to advocate for proper electoral reforms ahead of the next election.

“Our goal is to bring citizens together to fight for electoral reforms before the next election. No election will ever take place again under these problematic conditions,” he declared.

CCC lawmaker Corban Madzivanyika, however, said the electoral reforms were a good development.

“When you turn 18, you are automatically registered. You do not need to go and register physically. I think this is a good development. This may be correct; it can be effective.

“There will be voter manipulation. If you are under 18, the elections will be a big disappointment.

“The idea will be to try to suppress young voters, because they know that young voters have the ability to change the political landscape in terms of voting. »

He also supported moving the Zec system, adding that voter registration would be authentic.

“The reason is that the civil registry records births and deaths. You know, when a person dies, the voter registration will be authentic.

Zanu PF communications director Farai Marapira also dismissed Damba’s claims.

“Society is evolving, so we must continue to amend the Constitution so that it continues to maintain democracy, respect the will of the people and respect the citizens who elected the legislators to Parliament,” he said.

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