Voter apathy, or the lack of interest and participation in elections, has been a growing concern in
Zimbabwe over the past two decades. While Zimbabwe has held regular elections since
independence in 1980, public trust in the electoral process has weakened due to political tensions,
disputed election results, limited civic education, and a lack of meaningful youth engagement.
Over time, many citizens, particularly young people, have become disengaged from voting. For
instance, Project Vote 263 commenting on the 2018 harmonised elections observed that
“Zimbabwe had approximately 4.1 million youth between the ages of 18 to 35 who were eligible to
register to vote but only 2 501 000 (61%) were registered to vote and only 38% were able to cast
their votes on election day; approximately 1 520 000. This means 2 580 000 million young people
did not vote in 2018 and 1 599 000 were not registered to vote”. There is a perception amongst the
youth that their votes do not lead to real change, hence the disengagement with elections by
young people.
