THE chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), Justice Priscilla Chigumba, has said the appointment of Mr Utoile Silaigwana as the commission’s chief elections officer is above board and the country’s electoral management body is committed to inclusive electoral reforms.

In a statement yesterday, Justice Chigumba said Mr Silaigwana has 17 years in election management systems and was the most suitable candidate following the commission’s interviews.

She said her statement was prompted by misleading articles on various media platforms aimed at eroding public trust in the commission and creating alarm and despondency.
Justice Chigumba said Zec has been accused of un-procedurally appointing Mr Silaigwana to the electoral management body top post, claims that are unfounded.

“Questions have been raised on the appointment procedures of the Zec Chief Elections Officer (CEO). It should be noted that the appointment was done after interviews were conducted by the full commission which sat as an interview panel and vetted several applications before the appointment of the current CEO was effected,” said Justice Chigumba.

“For the record, the current CEO was appointed on merit as he is a qualified elections administrator with 17 years experience in that field.

He is a holder of a Master’s Degree in Elections Administration from an internationally recognised university as well as being an accredited facilitator for Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections, a modular professional development programme on electoral processes.”

She said Zec has adopted an inclusive policy on electoral reforms hence it’s convening of an all stakeholder conference after the 2018 harmonised elections to receive their views.State media