It is highly unlikely that the delimitation process will be completed in time for the report and maps to be adopted for use in the 2018 elections, as the delimitation process must be completed six months before any election. Another challenge will be availability of the new maps and boundaries to all stakeholders including civil society organisations in time for adequate voter education…more

The last delimitation exercise in Zimbabwe was carried out in 2008, shortly before the harmonised elections held on 29 March. By the time the 2018 elections are held, Zimbabwe would have gone 10 years without any delimitation of electoral boundaries. The  Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is currently carrying out a Mapping Boundary Verification exercise which  commenced on  the 18^th January 2017 and is expected to end on 4^th April 2017…more

Recently, ZESN observed the Mass Voter Registration process in Kenya, where Kenyans were registering using the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) system which Zimbabwe is about to adopt for the 2018 Elections. The learning missions  to Kenya was an eye opener especially given  that Kenya was doing the BVR exercise for the second time before a major election having done BVR prior to their 2013 elections…more

Political will is often times the missing ingredient to successful electoral reform. This has been the case with Zimbabwe and many other African countries. However an analysis of the recent changes to Kenya’s Electoral Act reveals a peculiar phenomenon. Political will to amend the Electoral Act was evident…more

Biometrics is a technology used to capture unique physical features such as finger prints and/ or facial scans for the purposes of identification. Biological and behavioural characteristics are stored in a database and used for identification of voters on polling day. BVR can be used to collect this unique data to identify voters and the software used can help eliminate duplicates or multiple registrations due to malpractice,  fraud and human error…more

As Zimbabwe readies itself for the new polling station based and biometric voter registration for the 2018 harmonised elections, it is imperative that efforts and resources are channelled towards ensuring that all eligible voters are registered so that they are able to vote…more

Executive Summary
The promulgation of a new Constitution on 22 May 2013 necessitated the alignment of subsidiary electoral laws with the Constitution. Section 157 of the Constitution particularly obliged law-makers to enact an Electoral Law to give effect to the letter and spirit of the Constitution. The legislature has since passed a number of amendments to the Electoral law in fulfillment of Section 157. However it is submitted that the subsidiary laws still fall short of reflecting the full extent of the letter and spirit of the Constitution…more

Executive summary
The purpose of this brief is to articulate recommendations on a policy on voter education, a critical part of the electoral process. This brief outlines the nature of the problem and the policy options available for purposes of enhancing voter education. Voter education has generally been too restricted, severely under-funded and ineffective. The problem of voter illiteracy requires a comprehensive, inclusive and continuous process of voter education…more

Executive Summary

There are dislocations between the progressive Constitution of Zimbabwe (2013) and the laws that were crafted underthe Lancaster House Constitution, whichthe government of Zimbabwe is reluctant to repeal and replace with democratic legislation. This has perpetuated the restrictive environment within which the Zimbabwean media operates. Besides the  laws, authorities have also superimposed themselves on publicly owned media entities such as…more

Executive Summary

This policy brief intends to inform and advise on how to improve transparencyin electoral processes in particular the voter registration, voting and resultsmanagement processes. Transparency is a key principle for credible and democratic elections. A transparent election process is ‘one in which each step is open to scrutiny by stakeholders (political parties,  election observers and voters alike), who are able to independently verify that the process…more