mbulelo smpofu
Chronicle Writer
THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has appointed its deputy chief elections officer responsible for administration, Mr Simbarashe Tongayi as its acting chief elections officer following the retirement of Mr Utloile Silaigwana.
Mr Silaigwana has since been appointed Commissioner in the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) Commission. He was sworn in last week by President Mnangagwa at the State House in Harare.
ZEC chairperson, Justice Priscilla Chigumba, yesterday announced Mr Silaigwana’s retirement in a statement while also congratulating him on his new post.
“Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) would like to congratulate the Commission’s chief elections officer, Mr Utloile Silaigwana on his appointment by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa to the post of Commissioner in the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service Commission as he retires from ZEC. The Commission wishes him well in all his future endeavours” she said.
“Meanwhile, the deputy chief elections officer responsible for administration, Mr Simbarashe Tongayi has been appointed acting chief elections officer with immediate effect. It is the Commission’s fervent hope that it will continue on its trajectory of excellence that meets stakeholder expectations.”
Mr Silaigwana joined the electoral management body when it was still known as the Electoral Supervisory Commission in 2002 as the Matabeleland South provincial elections coordinator.
In 2003, he moved to ZEC’s head office in Harare where he held the portfolio of public relations, voter education and international liaison.
At the inception of ZEC in 2005, Mr Silaigwana assumed the post of deputy chief elections officer responsible for operations until his promotion to the post of chief elections officer in 2019.
During his tenure, he was involved in the implementation of the first biometric voter registration exercise conducted in 2017 and subsequent polling station specific voting. He also conducted and supervised three consecutive harmonised elections.
Mr Silaigwana is a holder of several qualifications including a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from University of Zimbabwe, Masters in Electoral Policy and Administration (MEPA) attained from Scuola Superiore Santa Anna University in Italy and diplomas in further teacher education and adult education.
He is also a Building Resources in Democracy Governance and Elections (BRIDGE) accredited facilitator and has facilitated training in several countries in the Sadc region.
Mr Silaigwana is also a holder of several certificates in election management, observation, elections and violence and conflict resolution and a certificate in Leadership and Dialogue for Electoral Stakeholders.
He has also observed elections under the AU Election Observation Mission, ECF-Sadc and Association of Africa Electoral Authorities in Rwanda, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Zambia, Ghana and Namibia.
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