With less than two months before the holding of harmonised elections in Zimbabwe, the country is in election mode with evident electioneering from political parties and other stakeholders. Zimbabwe’s main political parties have already started preparing for the elections as shown by how they are mobilising citizens to register to vote and have started holding rallies and campaign activities. The Multi-Party Liaison Committees have been activated, with the police training its members in readiness for the polls.
The sitting of the Nomination Court was done on the 21st of June 2023 and some candidates failed to successfully lodge their papers for various reasons including the use of the bank transfer for payment. Some of these candidates have filed cases with the courts for redress. Candidates criticised the process for various irregularities and anomalies.
Although many preparations have been made for the elections, there is still much that needs to be improved for the environment to ensure peaceful, transparent and credible elections. Zimbabwe has an unfortunate history of contested electoral outcomes. This is because the legal, administrative and political frameworks still have gaps that need to be attended to in order to ensure the discharge of democratic elections. Some of the issues that still need to be attended to include the need to enhance the Independence of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), and other independent commissions connected to the electoral cycle, ensuring the full participation of women, the youth and persons with disability in the electoral process, as voters and candidates as well as the need to review the legal provisions around voter registration and the voters’ roll.
Although improvements have been noted in the provisions for civic and voter education, there are still some deficiencies that need to be addressed. In the past the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) had given organisations long term accreditation in 2017 to conduct civic and voter education but this decision was reversed in 2023 when the Commission announced that all organisations interested in conducting civic and voter education must apply for fresh accreditation, including renewal of accreditation for those who had it previously. This call was made on the 11th of May 2023, but almost two months later no accreditation has been done for any organisation.
