1 zimbabwe election support network [zesn] - Nehanda Radio

CHAPTER THREE
ELECTORAL PROCESSES AND ENFORCEMENT GAPS
Electoral processes are the procedural and regulatory frameworks through which elections are
undertaken. They provide details on the conduct of delimitation of boundaries, voter
registration, voter education, nomination of candidates, media coverage, accreditation of
observers, conflict management, polling, postal voting, counting of votes and tabulation of
results. In short, they explain how elections are actually conducted. One has to be firmly
grounded in electoral processes in order to identify unfolding electoral malpractices.
Also critical to the success of any election is the sound enforcement of electoral provisions.
How the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has enforced provisions relating to delimitation of
boundaries, voter registration, voter education, nomination of candidates, among other issues,
is therefore of critical concern in this chapter. Thus, besides exposing electoral gaps, the
chapter in essence assesses ZEC’s institutional capacity to prepare for the 29 March Elections.
Voter Registration and Inspection Processes
The Electoral Act establishes the Office of the Registrar-General of Voters and gives it
extensive powers to deal with the registration of voters, prepare the voters roll and take
measures to prevent election fraud. Under the new electoral framework registration is
continuous with citizens entitled to apply for enrolment at any time. Voters rolls are not
regarded as closed for new registrations in any election until the day before nomination day in
the election concerned. Persons who claim registration on a particular voter’s roll are expected
to produce any satisfactory documentary evidence reasonably proving where they live. In this
way the Act makes the process of establishing residence difficult particularly for urban
residents in high density suburbs.
The Commissioner is obliged to provide on payment of a fee one electronic copy of a voters roll
to each political party contesting an election. The copy has to be provided within seven days
after the calling of the election concerned which in essence means that the copy may never be
entirely up to date since additional voters may be registered until the day before nomination
day in the election. Also, while it is a requirement that printed copies of voters ’rolls must be
made available to interested parties on payment of a reasonable fee, it is trite to note that there
does not seem to be any requirement that the fee for the electronic copy of the roll must be
reasonable. Furthermore while the Electoral Laws Amendment Act requires the Commission to
provide printed copies of voters roll on request at any time, its obligation to provide electronic
copies is restricted to the period after an election has been called.
Voter registration and the inspection of the voters roll countrywide at an estimated 5000
inspection centers was initially announced as beginning on the 2 nd of February 2008 and
ending on the 7 th of February. This would have been the shortest inspection period for a
general election since 1980 had it not been extended to the 14 th of February 2008 and the
nomination court date to 15 February 2008. The Election date however remained unchanged
with 5 612 464 aspiring voters were on the voters’ roll. A ZEC briefing indicated that 300 voters
were added to the voters’ roll, how they were distributed remained unknown. Former Minister of
Information Jonathan Moyo and former Harare South legislator Margaret Dongo filed an urgent
chamber application in the High Court challenging the nomination court date that had been set
by President Mugabe, arguing that the President had unlawfully set the nomination court date
before the finalization of the delimitation report which is not in compliance with section 61A of
24