By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
Political parties play a pivotal role in Zimbabwe’s democratization process, representing citizens’ interests and offering competing policy proposals.
However, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) believes that effective functioning and accountability of political parties require stronger regulatory oversight.
In a revised position paper titled Pragmatics and Purposes of Political Party Regulation in Zimbabwe, ZESN highlights the importance of adequately resourcing political parties to ensure they contribute positively to the country’s development trajectory.
According to ZESN, political parties’ bid for public office and demand for state funding make regulatory oversight both essential and overdue.
“For this to happen, political parties must also be regulated. It can be concluded that their contest for public office and demand for public funding renders their regulation unavoidable and long overdue,” the paper states.
“It cannot be correct that these organizations, unregulated and accountable to no one, are allowed to demand accountability from those that comply with formal rules while they do not do the same.”
ZESN recommends urgent amendments to the party financing laws to address the growing trend of election result disputes. Currently, only the ruling ZANU-PF and the opposition CCC benefit from the law, leaving other parties unsupported.
ZESN calls for revising clauses that ban private funding and advocates for a comprehensive Political Parties Regulation Campaign and Funding Law based on international best practices.
“A prerequisite to the above recommendation is that the parties themselves must be regulated to ensure they adhere to a legal and normative framework in terms of their internal functioning, financing, and code of conduct,” ZESN argues.
The paper also advises establishing an independent statutory body, similar to Kenya’s Registrar of Parties, to handle party registration in place of the Election Management Body (EMB), particularly given Zimbabwe’s transitional status and the low levels of trust among political parties and the EMB.
“Regulation must aim at genuine objectives, such as enhancing party systems and inter-party relations to build stronger political institutions. It should not be abused by those in power or those without it,” ZESN states.
The report underscores that while political parties are integral to Zimbabwe’s democracy, a disconnect exists. Parties with significant capacity deficits often expect systemic reforms without addressing their own compliance with formal rules. To foster accountability, ZESN recommends implementing a regulatory framework that establishes minimum standards for party organization, financial management, and operational conduct.
In Zimbabwe, only the financing of political parties is currently regulated, with other areas such as registration and deregistration remaining unaddressed.
This lack of comprehensive legislation, ZESN notes, has led to accountability and internal democracy challenges within parties.
“The absence of legislation regulating political parties in Zimbabwe has been identified as a major issue contributing to disorder in some of their operations.”
ZESN concludes that for political parties to genuinely support Zimbabwe’s democratic transition, they must be publicly accountable and appropriately resourced. The organization advocates regulation that enables access to both public and private funding while ensuring parties operate transparently as public institutions.
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