1 zimbabwe election support network [zesn] - Nehanda Radio

six months of the date of its presentation. The determination of pre-election disputes should be
done fairly but within a very tight time frame. In practice, electoral petitions have not been
solved within the set time frame. There is also need to ensure that a competent, wellresourced,
effective, independent and impartial judiciary and electoral institutions is in place.
The Electoral Court should be given adequate jurisdiction to resolve disputes before the
election has taken place. While other mechanisms like multi-liaison committees were set up,
they remained invisible in both intent and practice.
Electoral Offences
Section 133A of the Electoral Laws Amendment Act 2008 introduced new provisions that spell
out in detail what constitutes the offence of intimidation. Inflicting or threatening to inflict bodily
harm, causing or threatening to cause bodily harm or abducting a person are electoral offences
if the person doing these things compels a person or persons generally to vote for a political
party or to refrain from voting or to attend a political meeting. They also constitute electoral
offences if they are committed by a person who, in order to compel another person to vote for a
political party, withholds or threatens to withhold any assistance to which that other person is
entitled or illegally does or threatens to do anything to the disadvantage of another person.
However for these provisions to be effective they will need to be properly enforced by the law
enforcement agencies. Where complaints of political intimidation are made to the Electoral
Commission, the Commission should be given powers to direct the Commissioner-General of
Police to ensure that an urgent and proper investigation is conducted into the complaints. It is
also instructive to note that electoral processes can hardly be understood in isolation from the
legal framework.
Polling Stations
ZEC published the list of polling stations on 8 March 2008. Below is a table showing the
number of polling stations and the average number of registered voters by province:
Province Registered
Voters
Provinces, Constituencies and Registered Voters
Polling Stations Average Number
of Registered
Voters per
Polling Station
Assembly
Constituencies
Average Number
of Registered
Voters per
Assembly
Constituency
Bulawayo 313,459 207 1,514,3 12 26,121,6
Harare 766,478 379 2,022,4 29 26,430,3
Manicaland 709,664 1,150 617.1 26 27,294,8
Mashonaland
Central
448,477 774 579,4 18 24,915,4
Mashonaland
East
624,630 1,038 601,8 23 27,157,8
Mashonaland
West
582,989 1,100 530.0 22 26,499,5
Masvingo 699,199 1,202 581,7 26 26,892,3
Matebeleland
North
345,264 545 633,5 13 26,558,8
Matebeleland
South
342,280 528 648,3 13 26,329,2
Midlands 739,510 1,289 573,7 28 26,411,1
TOTAL 5,571,950 9,132 687,5 210 26,533.1
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