1 zimbabwe election support network [zesn] - Nehanda Radio

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
While the 29 March Harmonized Election and 27 the June Presidential Run Off have come
and gone, they are poised to leave an indelible imprint in Zimbabwe’s post independence
electoral history. The limelight and controversy they generated within regional and global
contexts have no local electoral parallels save those witnessed during the legendary 1980
Independence Election.
They set in motion a chain of events which if not urgently addressed are set to see the
current socio-economic meltdown in the country worsening to unprecedented levels. For the
first time in its history, Zimbabwe went for almost half a year without a popularly elected
Government in place, for that matter at a time when bold decisions were needed to bail out
the country from its socio-economic meltdown.
Controversial as they were, the elections marked a significant departure from past electoral
experiences. For the first time since independence in 1980, Zimbabwe conducted four
elections rolled in one, hence “harmonized” elections. Until 2005, presidential and
parliamentary elections were held separately with presidential elections after every five years
and parliamentary elections after every six years.
In contrast to the overly restrictive electoral frameworks under which past elections were
conducted, the 29 March and 27 June Elections were conducted under a visibly reconstituted
electoral framework following the Electoral Laws Amendment Act [2008] and amendments to
POSA, AIPPA and the Public Broadcasting Act.
Also, votes were to be counted at polling stations, presiding officers obliged to record them
on Return Forms [VIIs] and post them outside polling stations before submitting them to
constituency centers, electoral changes that visibly enhanced transparency and
accountability in the counting and tabulation of election results.
Equally instructive is to note that while in past elections a presidential candidate with the
highest number of votes, even if below 50% of the total vote cast would be eligible for
presidency, the 29 March’s new electoral dispensation mandated the presidential candidate
to meet a stipulated 50% + 1 vote. Also unlike in previous elections, the electoral framework
explicitly provided for a run-off and also outlined the specific frameworks that will apply in the
event of this scenario, thus attaching a precautionary measure never attached before to any
election.
The electoral administrative framework was also reconstituted with the dissolution and
placing of the functions initially undertaken by the Delimitation Commission, the Electoral
Supervisory Commission under the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission with the Registrar-
General of Elections and the Election Directorate directly under it. However, as shown in the
section below, the electoral framework is still fraught with several gaps, in need of urgent
intervention.
While the run up to the 29 March Harmonized Elections and the polling day itself were
relatively calm, post poll scenarios cast an incomparable trend. For the first time in the
nation’s post independence electoral history, the electorate had to contend with an anxietyladen
six-week delay in the release of the presidential poll.
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