Tongayi Appointed Substantive ZEC Chief Elections Officer

By Staff Reporter

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has appointed Mr. Simbarashe Tongayi as its substantive Chief Elections Officer (CEO) from April 1, 2025. This follows after Mr. Tongayi has been acting CEO since December 2024.

Prior to acting, Mr. Tongayi served as the Deputy CEO for Administration, whose mandate was to simplify the administrative functions of the commission. His long years of public administration and election management experience at both regional and international levels were among the main factors to his appointment, according to the ZEC statement.

Mr. Tongayi also has professional experience, working as General Manager Human Resources and Administration at the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC), and a decade-plus career with the Public Service Commission (PSC) secretariat.

Academically, Mr. Tongayi is pursuing a final year Doctorate in Strategic Management at Chinhoyi University of Technology. He has various Master’s qualifications in Human Resources, Peace, Leadership and Conflict Resolution, and also a recent Master of Science in Defence and Security Studies. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Social Work and also a BRIDGE accredited facilitator.

The ZEC statement was upbeat on the capability of Mr. Tongayi to head the commission and bring about its long-term goals. “ZEC is looking forward to this new chapter under Mr. Tongayi’s leadership and is sure he has the capability to take the organization to great heights,” the statement read.

The Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, Commissioners, and the Secretariat wished Mr. Tongayi well upon his appointment.

This comes at a time when there is heightened scrutiny on electoral processes in Zimbabwe, and it comes particularly well for ZEC. There will be numerous people looking to see how Mr. Tongayi tackles issues facing the commission and conducts future electoral activities.