By Thelma Wandayi
In the lead-up to the 2023 Zimbabwean presidential election, two women had their sights set, eager to make a ground-breaking change in this year’s elections.
Unfortunately, their dreams were dashed due to a technicality in the mode of payment required for nomination, leaving their supporters disappointed, particularly those who were keen to see a female candidate in the running for the highest office in the land.
Linda Masarira of the Labour Economists and African Democrats (LEAD) and Elisabeth Valerio of the United Zimbabwe Alliance (UZA) believed they fulfilled all the necessary requirements to contest for leadership in their respective parties.
However, as they tried to make their payments, they discovered that there were certain limitations that stood between them and their dreams.
Both women attempted to submit their nomination papers using bank transfers payment but, they were informed by the nomination court that bank transfers were not an acceptable method of payment, leading to their exclusion from the presidential race.
In an interview with this publication both women shared the challenges they faced during the submission of their nomination forms to the High Court.
Masarira, said on the 21st of June, she had to run around to find the balance of her payment and by the time she did, she could not make the payment because she was restricted from doing an RTGS transfer.
Unable to proceed with an RTGS transfer, Linda sought written confirmation from the presiding officer but was denied, only to be told that she could appeal the decision to the electoral court.
“On the 21st of June 2023 I went to submit my nomination forms at The ZEC High Court where the presidential candidates were submitting their forms. My papers were submitted, verified, accepted and filed. My predicament started when I wanted to do the local currency transfer, I had enquired in the morning how much it was, because rates had changed the day before and after the rates had change. I realized that my money was short 28 million and ran around to find the balance
“By 3pm I had the total amount and when I came back to make the payment, we realized there was a new challenge of the bank limits. The bank limits from my bank are 2.5 million a month for ZIPIT which they were accepting and for swipe it was 1.5 million a day. I requested to do an RTGS transfer and they said it would not reflect on midnight the 21st of June, so I could not go ahead and do it, I went back to the presiding officer who told me that they were only accepting ZIPIT transfers or swipe. I then asked them that I needed that in writing but they said l could not, but I could approach the electoral court for an appeal,” said Masarira.
Like Linda, Valerio faced rejection when ZEC refused to acknowledge their bank transfer proof of payment, despite having a documented record of the transaction, the electoral commission refused to accept it.
Valerio, said she had successfully filed her nomination papers and was approved as a presidential candidate,and had made a bank transfer with the proof of payment but was rejected because the nomination court could not accept bank transfers.
“We were able to file our papers and we were approved and in fact I was approved as a presidential candidate and we had a number of MP’s that were approved throughout the country however when we were then given the instruction for payment then ZEC refused to acknowledge our payment, our form of payment well the proof of payment we had so they rejected our payment on the basis that they could not accept our proof of payment. We used ZWL bank transfer and we had the consent proof of payment written, stamped documented by a bank,” said Valerio
Disheartened by the series of obstacles, both women have refused to give up on their aspirations of running for president.
They have filed separate appeals to the electoral court, hoping to have their disqualifications overturned and their names added to the official list of candidates.
As of 1 January 2023, 11.3% of countries have women Heads of State (17 out of 151 countries, monarchy-based systems excluded), and 9.8% have women Heads of Government (19 out of 193). This is an increase compared to a decade ago when figures stood at 5.3% and 7.3%, respectively. According to the “Women in Politics 2023” Map, the proportion of women parliamentarians has increased globally to 26.5% from 25.5% in 2021, while the number of women Speakers of Parliament increased from 20.9% in 2021 to 22.7%.
According to the United Nations Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said “This data tells us that women are still the minority of Heads of State and Government. They are still deeply under-represented in government leadership, at less than one in four Cabinet Ministers, with men continuing to dominate critical portfolios such as the economy, defense, and energy. Full democracy needs the equal participation of women in all its processes”.
Masarira and Elisabeth both believe that Zimbabwean women should have an equal and fair ground for political participation.
Masarira, specifically, highlighted this, stating, “Women are generally elbowed out of active politics in this country systematically,” she says. “We as women of Zimbabwe demand a fair and an equal ground to participate in the political economy, we feel discriminated and we have our constitutional rights violated as the Section 56 of the constitution speaks about equality before the law and non-discrimination.”
Valerio expressed disappointment at the lack of female representation in the presidential race, highlighting the urgent need for greater female participation in politics.
“Well, I am rather disappointed because as I look at ballot right now, we have 11 men and zero women…, If women are not represented in government, then issues that affect women are not going to be acknowledged and policies that need to be implemented are not going to be affected,” said Valerio.
As it stands, there are no female candidates in the Zimbabwean presidential race, which has left Masarira and Elisabeth disappointed but not discouraged
It’s not an uncommon occurrence on the African continent that female candidates get elbowed out of a presidential race, during Uganda’s 2021 election, presidential candidate Nancy Linda Kalembe, the only female candidate, was also denied nomination for failing to provide proof of payment for the obligatory 20 million Shillings nomination fee. However, Kalembe was granted a chance to present herself again for nomination the following day, after she contended that she had paid but the payment had not reflected.
The incident in Zimbabwe echoes a global struggle faced by women aspiring to political office, especially in Africa, where patriarchal systems still dominate.
Other women who have run for president in Zimbabwe include Thokozani Khupe (Movement for Democratic Change), Violet Mariyacha (The United Democratic Movement) Joice Mujuru, (People’s Rainbow Coalition) Melbah Dzapasi for (#1980 Freedom Movement Zimbabwe) in 2018.
The determination of these two women to contest the election signals a growing movement towards greater gender representation in politics.
Whether or not their appeals are successful, their efforts have brought much-needed attention to the issue of gender equality in Zimbabwean politics, and may pave the way for future female candidates to make their mark on the political landscape.