Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is a nominally independent organisation which controls elections at all levels of Zimbabwe politics. It was established by an Act of Parliament in 2004, with influence from its predecessor, the Electoral Supervisory Commission as well as the Southern African Development Community. Official functions. Providing voter education which is: The Commission. The Commission comprises 8 Commissioners who are appointed by the President. The Chairperson is appointed after consultation with the judicial service commission, and the other 7 are appointed from a list of nominees supplied by the Parliamentary Committee on Standing Rules and Orders . There is also a Chief Elections Officer charged with the day-to-day running of the Commission. Criticism. On numerous occasions the ZEC has been dubbed biased and their independence questioned by opposition parties as well as international Independent media. Political violence and intimidation. Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change party believes that the June 2008 elections could not be conducted fairly due to election violence which Tsvangirai believes was state-sponsored, and in most cases performed by the state militia. He also claims that members of the police, Zimbabwe National Army, and prison officers were being "forced  to vote Zanu-PF. According to Tsvangirai the ZEC has failed to condemn whisperings among Zanu-PF officials that president Robert Mugabe will continue to rule regardless of electoral results, which has encouraged groups of War Veterans to provoke violence. Media. MDC also claim that the Commission fails to conduct its duties of regulation efficiently as it has failed to act on the Zimbabwean media, such as the state-run Herald" newspaper, which they are required to do in their mandate. Critics state that this information is completely one-sided against the opposition and in favour of Robert Mugabe and  the incumbent Zanu-PF party, as well as being incorrect, and inciting racial, religious and political hatred, and blame the Commission for failing to monitor this.