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Harare – Zimbabwe's Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson Justice Rita Makarau has reportedly resigned just a couple of months before the crunch polls in 2018.
According to Daily News, Makarau stunned the southern African country when she quit her job last week on Friday without giving any reasons for her resignation.
Unnamed sources at the Zec said that Makarau's sudden departure from her job had left a number of unanswered questions as she had been in jovial mood before she left her post.
The sources said that it appeared as if she had been pushed to leave her job.
"It appears as if she may have been pushed. Her email signalling her intention to resign came as a complete shock to us. It came after we had an important meeting with one of our stakeholders during the week, and there was no sign that she was on her way out... In fact she was as calm and cheerful as she always is, an unnamed source was quoted as saying.
Opposition parties were also "surprised and concerned" over Makarau's sudden departure.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party led by Morgan Tsvangirai said that Makarau's resignation had "opened a can of worms".
Makarau was appointed by ex-president Robert Mugabe in 2016 despite opposition parties' objections, reported Zimbabwe Independent.
Her official reasons for resigning were unclear but it seemed that her exit was linked to Mugabe's ouster last month and the defeat of Zanu-PF's G40 faction, the report said.
Makarau’s deputy, Emmanuel Magade, was likely to be appointed as Zec’s interim chairperson.
