The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), a group of 37 non-governmental organisations working to promote democratic elections in Zimbabwe held its 22nd Annual General Meeting where it re-elected Mr Andrew Makoni as the Chairperson and Mr. Dumisani Nkomo as the Vice-Chairperson. Both Mr. Makoni and Mr Nkomo’s nominations were uncontested and therefore duly elected.
Other organisations elected to be represented in the ZESN Board are: Albino Trust Zimbabwe (ATZ), Chitungwiza and Manyame Rural Residents Association (CAMERRA), Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), Christian Alliance of Zimbabwe (CAZ), Media Monitors (MM), Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA), and the Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust (YETT).
The new ZESN Board comes in, at a time when Zimbabwe is facing several socio-economic and political challenges that not only need perseverance but courage and strength to enable Zimbabwe to regain its respect, trust, and admiration through respect for human and people’s rights.
In his acceptance speech the Chairperson, Mr Andrew Makoni thanked the ZESN members for the trust they reposed in him to steer the organisation for the next five years. As the country prepares to hold harmonised elections in 2023, he urged the network to once again prepare to carry out its oversight role in electoral processes including observing the 2023 harmonised elections. He thanked the outgoing Board Members for the effective oversight role they played, and welcomed the incoming Board, pledging to work with the newly elected Board Members to further ZESN’s vision, mission and objectives.
The country is currently in the process of considering legal, political and electoral reforms which are expected to have been adopted and implemented before the holding of harmonized elections in 2023. There are also important Bills that are being deliberated in Parliament including the Private Voluntary Organizations’ Bill, Patriotic Bill and other bills.
As ZESN continues to lobby and advocate reforms in Zimbabwe before the holding of the next election it is confident that some provisions contained in the draft Comprehensive Electoral Amendment Bill by CSOs will be adopted to support improvements in the manner Zimbabwe conducts its elections.
The new Board will not only build on the successes of the outgoing Board but also breathe new ideas into the work of ZESN as the network continues to work towards a Zimbabwe where democratic electoral processes are upheld.
Source: Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN)
