Zimbabwe Electoral Commission

See Elections for a listing of existing profiles around issues.
See A History of Zimbabwean Elections.

History

ZEC was established in 2004 to control and manage as well as oversee all electoral processes in the country. The establishment of ZEC was necessitated by political parties and civil organisations which were disgruntled by the activities of the Registrar General's office as well as the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC) which supervised the conduct of elections in the country from 1980. ^[1]

1980-2004

After independence the new government introduced a democratic, non-racist electoral system based upon universal adult suffrage. An electoral management structure was established consisting of:

• The Delimitation Commission, responsible for the delimitation of electoral districts,
• The Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC), charged with supervising the conduct of elections,

The management of elections was done by:

• The Registrar-General of Elections- registered voters and compiled voter registers, conducted the voting process and the counting and collation of votes, and announced the results of the election.
• The Election Directorate provided logistical support to the Registrar-General in the management of the electoral process.

Post 2004

The formation of ZEC in 2004 was due to civil organisations and political party complaints (see Events below) and the adoption of the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, which were adopted by SADC Heads of State and Governments at the SADC Summit that was held in Mauritius in 2004. And Zimbabwe was a member, therefore required to conform. The principles stipulated that elections were to be run by an independent management body and not by a government department. ^[1]

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) was established as an independent body, not a government department like that of the Registrar-General. The Electoral Supervisory Commission was then abolished in 2005 by Constitutional Amendment No. 17. ZEC became the body responsible for running elections, and the function of the Registrar-General of Voters in relation to elections was now only to register voters under the supervision of ZEC. ZEC was responsible for compiling voters rolls and providing copies of these rolls to those requesting them.

Organisation Structure

ZEC was constituted in terms of Chapter 12 Section 238 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. There are nine Commissioners, who hold office for a term of six years. There is a Chairperson and a Deputy-Chairperson both of whom are appointed on a full time basis. Four of the eight Commissioners other than the Chairperson must be women.
The Chairperson is appointed by the President after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission and the Parliamentary Committee on Standing Rules and Orders. The Chairperson must be a judge or former judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court.
The other eight members are appointed by the President from a list of not fewer than twelve nominees submitted by the Parliamentary Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.
The Constitution provisions required that Commissioners be chosen “for their integrity and their experience and competence in the conduct of affairs in the public or private sector.” The Commissioners were:

• Justice Priscilla Chigumba (Mrs) Chairperson
• Mr. Emmanuel Magade Deputy Chairperson
• Mrs Joyce L. Kazembe Commissioner - term of office ended on 6 July 2022.
• Mr Daniel J. Chigaru Commissioner - term of office ended on 6 July 2022.
• Dr. Qhubani Moyo Commissioner
• Ms Sibongile Ndlovu Commissioner - term of office ended on 6 July 2022.
• Dr. Ngoni Kundidzora Commissioner - term of office ended on 6 July 2022.
• Mrs Faith Sebata Commissioner - term of office ended on 6 July 2022.
• Ms Netsai Mushonga Commissioner - term of office ended on 6 July 2022.

July 2022 New Commissioners

In July 2022, New Commissioners were appointed:

• Mrs Abigail Millicent Mohadi Ambrose, from Matabeleland South,an accountant by profession. She is the daughter of former Vice-President Kembo Mohadi.
• Mr Shepherd Manhivi, registered legal practitioner, with an LL.B. (Hons) degree, and holds with two additional degrees B.Sc. (Hons) in Administration and an M.Sc. in International Relations, all from the University of Zimbabwe.
• Ms Catherine Mpofu, a language, communications specialist and peace practitioner. She holds eleven years’ experience working with the public, media and civic society from the legislative arm of the State.
• Mrs Rosewita Murutare, a social scientist with experience in community health, community research and gender equity. She has previously worked with ZichiRe the Zimbabwe Community Health Intervention Research Behavioural Change Programme, a project of the University of Zimbabwe, resident in the department of community medicine. She holds an M.Sc. in Population Studies (UZ), B.Sc. in Geography and Environmental Studies (MSU) and a Diploma in Education from GTC.
• Dr Janet Mbetu Nzvenga, has a diploma in Education, a B.Sc. degree in psychology, a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology and a PhD in Psychology. She is currently a lecturer at Gweru Polytechnic.
• Mr Kudzai Shava, a doctoral student, an expert on disability matters, specialising in blind disability inclusion, and a researcher. He himself is visually impaired.

So, while ZEC was established as an independent body, so that elections should be run by an independent management body and not by a government department, the body is appointed by the President / Government!

Jasper Mangwana was appointed ZEC spokesperson with effect from 18 March 2022. It is reported that he is also a Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Commissioner.

Spokesperson

Jasper Mangwana was appointed ZEC spokesperson with effect from 18 March 2022. Jasper Mangwana was the chair and founder of Zimbabwe Youth in SDGs (ZYSDG), the President of the Internet Society of Zimbabwe and a Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Commissioner. ^[2]

ZEC Deputy Spokesperson

On 19 September 2022, Catherine Mpofu was appointed Deputy Spokesperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. Her experience working with the public, spanning 11 years as of 2022was significant. ^[3]

Rodney Kiwa, Deputy Chair and Spokesperson

Rodney Kiwa was sworn in as a Commissioner for ZEC in October 2021 alongside Jasper Mangwana. ^[4]

In March 2022, Kiwa was appointed as the ZEC deputy chairperson by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. ^[5]

On 20 February 2023, Kiwa, ZEC chairperson Priscilla Chigumba and Utoile Silaigwana were elected spokespersons for the Commission. ^[6]

Functions

General

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has the following functions according to the terms of Section 239 of the new constitution:

1. To prepare for, conduct and supervise elections to the office of President and to Parliament, elections to provincial and metropolitan councils and the governing bodies of local authorities, elections of members of the National Council of Chiefs established by section 285, referendums and to ensure that those elections and referendums are conducted efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law
2. To supervise elections of the President of the Senate and the Speaker and to ensure that those elections are conducted efficiently and in accordance with the law
3. To register voters
4. To compile voters’ rolls and registers
5. To ensure the proper custody and maintenance of voters’ rolls and registers
6. To delimit constituencies, wards and other electoral boundaries
7. To design, print and distribute ballot papers, approve the form of and procure ballot boxes, and establish and operate polling centres
8. To conduct and supervise voter education
9. To accredit observers of elections and referendum
10. To give instructions to persons in the employment of the State or of a local authority for the purpose of ensuring the efficient, free, fair, proper and transparent conduct of any election or referendum
11. To receive and consider complaints from the public and to take such action in regard to the complaints as it considers appropriate.^[7]

Voters' Roll

The voters roll is the document in which all persons who have registered as voters are listed. There is a national voters roll, a constituency voters roll and a ward voters roll.

In order to vote in an election in Zimbabwe, voters can register at any Voter Registration Centre, and will vote at a Polling station near their place of residence. If they move from the place where they are registered and wish to vote in the place where they now reside they must transfer their registration. Voter registration is a continuous process and persons may register at any of the registration centres. When elections are pending there will be an intensive voter registration campaign. All voters should inspect the voters roll to ensure that their names appear on the roll and that their details are correctly set out.

2002 - ZEC (ESC) was taken to court for refusing to release the voters roll.
2008 - ZEC was taken to court for refusing to release the roll.
2013 - ZEC was taken to court for refusing to release the roll.
2018 - ZEC was taken to court for refusing to release the roll.

Electoral Act

The Electoral Act [Chapter 2:13] (Act No. 25 of 2004) came into operation 1 February 2005. File:ELECTORAL ACT CHAPTER 2 13 UPDATED .pdf (131 pages)

Delimitation

Delimitation is the process of dividing the country into constituencies and wards for the purposes of elections of persons to constituency seats in the National Assembly and of councillors to local authorities. The process is carried out in terms of sections 160 and 161 of the new Constitution.

• Number of constituencies and wards

- For the purpose of electing Members of Parliament, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must divide Zimbabwe into two hundred and ten constituencies.
- For the purpose of elections to local authorities (City / Town Council, Rural Development Coucils) the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must divide local authority areas into wards according to the number of members to be elected to the local authorities concerned.

• Delimitation of electoral boundaries

Once every ten years, on a date or within a period fixed by the Commission so as to fall as soon as possible after a population census, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must conduct a delimitation of the electoral boundaries into which Zimbabwe is to be divided. If a delimitation of electoral boundaries is completed less than six months before polling day in a general election, the boundaries so delimited do not apply to that election, and instead the boundaries that existed immediately before the delimitation are applicable. The boundaries of constituencies must be such that, so far as possible, at the time of delimitation equal numbers of voters are registered in each constituency within Zimbabwe. The boundaries of wards must be such that, so far as possible, at the time of delimitation equal numbers of voters are registered in each ward of the local authority concerned.

In delimiting -
(a) the boundaries of wards, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must ensure that no ward is divided between two or more local authority areas;
(b) the boundaries of constituencies, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must ensure that no ward is divided between two or more constituencies

In dividing Zimbabwe into wards and constituencies, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must, in respect of any area, give due consideration to -
(a) its physical features;
(b) the means of communication within the area;
(c) the geographical distribution of registered voters;
(d) any community of interest as between registered voters;
(e) in the case of any delimitation after the first delimitation, existing electoral boundaries; and
(f) its population;

Further legal details available at ZEC website - https://www.zec.org.zw/ [[1]]

In October 2022, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission released voter population figures to be used to determine the constituencies and or wards that shall be divided under the delimitation exercise. ZEC said the numbers were obtained on 31 May 2022.
Population Totals (May 2022):
Bulawayo Metropolitan - 270 938
Harare Metropolitan - 952 102
Manicaland - 738 624
Mashonaland Central - 536 463
Mashonaland East - 641 668
Mashonaland West - 661 289
Masvingo - 632 320
Matabeleland North - 340 427
Matabeleland South - 267 617
Midlands - 762 928
Total - 5 804376 ^[8]

Maps

The ZEC website, [[2]] in August 2022, under "ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES - MAPS", has 53 maps which can be downloaded.
However, in August 2022, a delimitation excercise was underway, which may or may not be completed in time for the next elections.

Candidate Fees

Elisabeth Valerio has condemned Parliament’s recent decision to uphold candidate nomination fees pegged by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. The fees are exorbitant, and will make it hard for some aspiring candidates to contest in the 23 August elections. It strips away all possibility for participation by potential election contestants who may not have the required resources… The Constitution of Zimbabwe is clear that the state should ensure that its citizens’ political rights are protected and these include running for political office, when running for political office becomes a preserve of the rich, we are no longer guaranteeing the political rights of citizens.

The leader of the Nationalists Alliance Party (NAP), Divine Mhambi-Hove successfully challenged the nomination fees through the courts. The Constitutional Court ordered Parliament to scrutinise them for their legality or lack of. However, Parliament’s Legal Committee (PLC), which is made up of five members, three of whom are Zanu PF members, approved the nomination fees. ^[9]

From Veritas [3]
Election Watch 15-2023 - The Constitutional Court Order on Nomination Fees - [4]
File:Election Watch 15-2023 - The Constitutional Court Order on Nomination Fees 0.pdf

Elisabeth Valerio Duly Nominated

On 16 August 2023, ZEC chief elections officer, Utloile Silaigwana said: following an order of the Electoral Court sitting in Harare, issued on 19 July 2023, Ms. Elisabeth Isabel Valerio, a candidate sponsored by the United Zimbabwe Alliance (UZA) party, is hereby declared a duly nominated Presidential candidate. The other aspiring presidential candidates, Saviour Kasukuwere and Linda Masarira’s appeals were rejected by the courts. Her nomination papers were rejected despite providing bank-stamped proof of her request to initiate a ZWL transfer of funds to the ZEC bank account for the required nomination fees equivalent to US$20 000. The other candidates are Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zanu PF, Joseph Makamba Busha of Free Zim Congress, Nelson Chamisa of CCC, Trust Chikohora of ZCPD, Blessing Kasiyamhuru of ZIPP, Lovemore Madhuku of NCA, Wilbert Mubaiwa of NPC, Gwinyai Henry Muzorewa of UANC, Douglas Mwonzora of MDC and Wilson Harry Peter of DOP. ^[10]

Events

Irregularities of the Commission, (2012/2013)

Despite registered as an independent body which is non-partisan, ZEC has been criticised for being aligned to Zanu PF. The appointment of ZEC employees has also been a cause of concern and this has been pointed as being a deliberate attempt to weed out those opposed to Zanu PF. The Chair of ZEC is appointed by the President in consultation with the Judicial Service Commission and the Parliamentary Committee on Standing Rules and Orders (PCSRO). ^[11] (Full report below.) The eight commissioners of ZEC are also appointed by the President from a list of not fewer than twelve nominees submitted by the PCSRO. ^[11] In 2012 while addressing delegates at a workshop, Commissioner Bessie Nhandara admitted that some of the electoral body's employees were once employed in the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO). ^[12] Before the 31 July 2013 elections, the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute (ZDI) called for the demilitarisation of ZEC. ^[12] In the wake of the above, ZEC has been accused of being politicised by Zanu PF, enabling Zanu PF to win in the country's past elections. The current ZEC Chair, is Justice Rita Makarau, who was once a Member of Parliament under the Zanu PF ticket. The Special Vote arrangement whereby members from the disciplined forces are expected to cast their votes 16 days before the polls has been a cause of concern. ^[11]

Prior to the 2008 elections, the Parliamentary Committee on Standing Rules and Orders (PCSRO) was dominated by Zanu PF and this subsequently entails that the perception of those to be selected as members of ZEC was biased. This saw the selection and appointment of Justice Mtambanengwe as the Chairperson of ZEC although the Movement for Democratic Change proposed candidate, Professor Reginald Austin, was more qualified and experienced. ^[11] In 2012, the Acting Chairperson of ZEC, Mrs Joyce Kazembe announced that ZEC was going to remove dead people's names from the voter's roll. ^[13] She was quoted saying,

The law says we have to assist the Registrar General to remove names of dead people from the voter's roll or those that have been out of the country for more than 12 months. However, that is based on the willingness of the people to cooperate and remove these people. ^[13]

ZEC also failed to fulfil their constitutional mandate to provide all political parties with an electronic copy of the voters roll in the build-up of the July 2013 elections. ZEC defended itself arguing that, their machines had developed a technical fault and therefore it was unable to provide all political parties with the electronic copies of the voters roll.^[14] In the election build-up, Makarau announced for the first time that ZEC will take disciplinary action against journalist for being biased towards ZANU PF.^[15] This however never came to pass. Opposition parties and civic society organisations criticised the outcome of the July 2013 elections citing these irregularities which they believed were orchestrated by ZEC to sabotage other political parties. The elections also witnessed a high number of people who were chased away on the basis of being ineligible to vote as well as a high number of people who were assisted to vote by the body. In spite of this, however, ZEC received a vote of confidence through the unanimous election of Makarau as the President of the SADC Electoral Commission Forum in August 2013.^[16]

Dumiso Dabengwa, who was the president of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), in December 2014 filed as application at the Electoral Court seeking to compel ZEC to take over the duties of the voter registration, maintaining the voter's roll and register in line with the new constitution.^[17] This show that, ZEC is failing to perform. Dabengwa who was represented by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights stated that

Since 10 August 2013, when Section 239 (1)became operative but ZEC has not yet complied with the law, that is registering voters on a continuous basis as well as ensuring that the public has access to inspecting the voter's roll.^[17]

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and The 2013 Poll: An Appraisal

This report, 44 pages, is available here. File:ZECs-and-the-2013-Poll-An-Appraisal.pdf

Voter's Roll for 2018 Elections

ZEC announced that there is no existing Voter's Roll and that all people who want to vote in the 2018 Elections, should register afresh using Biometric Voter Registration (BVR).

Failure to produce verified 2018 voters' roll

ZEC failed to produce the verified voter's roll despite several demands from opposition parties who claimed that without the voter's roll the election would not be free and fair. Confusion reigned supreme over the release of the voters' roll with contesting political parties denying claims by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's (ZEC) the document has been availed to them.^[18]

Saying No To Voters’ Roll Audit By External Chartered Accountants (2018)

Justice Priscilla Chigumba the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission revealed that the elections body had turned down a request for the Biometric Voters Roll to be audited by external chartered accountants. Justice Chigumba said that the such an act was illegal under the law, and said that people were free to audit the roll at their cost. ^[19]

Chigumba said,

The request was made that Zec undertakes an audit of the voters’ roll by engaging chartered accountants and our response was that the auditing of the voters’ roll was provided for in the law and as Zec, we shall produce a provisional voters’ roll, which shall be subjected to the electorate for inspection and correction. This is an audit that is provided for by the law. So, anyone, who wants to have the voters’ roll audited, even in America or anywhere, they are free to come and collect the roll and do the audit on their own and bring matters that they would have noted for correction

Voter's roll inspection (2018)

The voters’ roll inspection programme started on 19 May and ended on the 29 May 2018. ZEC said that Over 4,7 million people inspected the provisional voters’ roll as the programme ended.

In a statement on Saturday, ZEC said of the 5,4 million registered voters, more than 4,7 million people used different platforms to inspect the voters’ roll.

“Six hundred and ninety-four thousand and thirty (694 030) physically inspected the voters’ roll as at May 24, 2018. 819 935 used the USSD code *265# and 3 256440 received bulk SMS. 4 770405 people have so far checked their registration status,” said Zec in a statement.^[20]

Dismissing Jonathan Moyo’s allegations

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said that it carried out a second round of the de-duplication exercise of the voters’ roll to deal with people who registered during inspection of the BVR.

ZEC said this in a statement while responding to questions following allegations made by Professor Jonathan Moyo on his Twitter handle, accusing the electoral body of manipulating the voters’ roll to ensure Zanu-PF’s victory in the elections.

High Court orders to issue voters’ roll (2018)

The High Court ordered the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to release the voters’ roll used during the inspection in a ruling complemented with opposition parties' clarion calls for the release of the voter's roll.^[21]

Cleaning the Voter's roll (2018)

In May 2018 ZEC started correcting data entry errors made by the registration officers during the registration period. ^[22]

National Assembly Nomination Court results (2018)

In June 2018, the ZEC nomination court released the names of the aspiring national assembly contestants. Click on the link below to view the list. Full Schedule of National Assembly Nominations

Data base leak controvesy (2018)

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe distanced itself from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission claims that it and other MNO’s may have sold their databases to political parties, in particular, Zanu PF. This came after ZEC commissioners where asked to explain how Zanu PF was able to get the data to allow it to send targeted bulk messages to people asking them to vote for the party’s candidates in the 30 July 2018 harmonised elections. The commissioners who were at the media brief tried to distance themselves and offered a number of explanations, although all of the explanations were ultimately unsatisfactory because they did not explain how Zanu PF knew people’s constituencies.

ZEC commissioner Netsai Mushonga said that the political party had done the research on its own and reminded people that they leave their mobile numbers in a number of places including supermarkets. Commissioner Qhubani Moyo, on the other hand, said that mobile network operators have facilities where they sell their databases to third parties for bulk messaging.

Responding to questions on whether it had sold the database on social media, Econet said,

Econet holds customer and client data in the strictest of confidence, in line with the requirements of the law. It does not give or sell any customer data to third parties. The company only shares relevant customer information with regulatory authorities, such POTRAZ, in line with subscriber registration rules and its licensing requirement

ZEC chair Priscilla Chigumba promised to investigate whether the data was leaked from ZEC to, and to take the necessary action if so, after a reporter pointed out that the only organisation which had all the data in question was ZEC. The voters’ roll which was made available to the public does not contain phone numbers. ^[23]

Responds to aggrieved parties (2018)

Addressing her weekly media briefing, ZEC chair Justice Priscilla Chigumba said the electoral body went beyond its constitutional mandate by inviting all political parties to observe the printing of the ballot paper. Printing of the ballot paper is the constitutional prerogative of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and any political party which feels aggrieved by the law and wants to appeal to the African Union and SADC is free to do so. Chigumba said that in other jurisdictions, stakeholders were allowed to “touch the ballot or feel it” because they had a legislative framework for that. On the transportation of the ballot papers, Justice Chigumba said it would not be done by the military, but the printers. The strict letter of the law is that we have the exclusive constitutional mandate to procure ballot paper, to design it, to print it and to distribute it.

“The reason why we keep having these disputes around these areas is that the law does not provide that members of the public or stakeholders be involved in this process. Our law says only ZEC can do that. We respect the democratic right of each and every Zimbabwean to approach any fora that they feel will give them the relief that they seek,” she said.^[24]

ZEC chair CAPITALK interview with Ruvheneko

High Court ruling on voter's roll with photographs (2018)

High Court judge Justice Happias Zhou ruled that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is right on not issuing a voters’ roll with photographs to political parties or any member of public, and the electoral body cannot be compelled to do otherwise.

Justice Zhou’s ruling followed a petition by Ms. Ethel Tsitsi Mpezeni, seeking an order barring ZEC from releasing a voters’ roll bearing registered voters’ pictures. The petition prompted opposition political parties and activists who comprised MDC Alliance, Renewal Democrats of Zimbabwe, People’s Democratic Party, Coalition for Democrats, National Constitutional Assembly, Ms Theresa Manase, Pastor Evan Mawarire, Mr Harrison Nkomo, Mr Jeremiah Bamu, Mr Douglas Coltart and Mr Warship Dumba to combine and file a joinder application. They argued that they will be completely prejudiced by the order Mpezeni sought saying it would have a negative result on the credibility of the 30 July harmonized elections.

Justice Zhou ruled that Ms. Mpezeni’s fears that the provision of a photograph will enable criminals to clone national identity documents were properly founded to warrant the court to grant the relief she sought. Justice Zhou said There is no reason why publication of the photograph should be allowed to people without a legitimate reason to have it. Granting of the interdict does not irreparably prejudice the respondents^[25]

Farm Mechanisation Scheme (2020)

In July 2020, The ZEC was listed, in the BSR of 18 July 2020, as a beneficiary in the 2007 RBZ Farm Mechanisation Scheme, as a result of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme.

The data is analysed by recipients origin:.

• Mashonaland provinces had the most beneficiaries, both in terms of numbers and value.
  

Mashonaland East got US$47,5 million,
Mashonaland West US$44,7 million
Mashonaland Central had US$34,2 million.

• Two Matebeleland provinces had a combined total of US$13,9 million.
• Masvingo US$26,4 million,
• Manicaland US$18 million
• Midlands US$14 million.

The ZEC is listed under the thematic group “Political Referees: Commissions”. According to the list, the ZEC itself was given hundreds of motorbikes worth US$197,244.00, notwithstanding the fact that this was touted as a Farm Mechanisation Scheme. ^[26]

Voters Roll accessibility 2022

In November 2022, ZEC invoiced Election Resource Centre (a local independent election watchdog) US$187 000 for the release of a hard copy of the voters’ roll. Director Babra Bhebe told stakeholders at a delimitation conference in Bulawayo that they received the invoice after requesting a quotation from the electoral management body.
ZAPU election secretary Kevin Mapanda said the fee was too high for any political party adding, “The problem is that ZEC only engages the ruling Zanu PF party and this delimitation process is going to cause confusion.”
MDC Alliance national deputy organising secretary Mukombwe Dube echoed Mapanda’s remarks saying ZEC’s fees were meant to deprive other political parties of access to the voters’ roll.
Citizens Coalition for Change national deputy secretary for elections Ellen Shiriyedenga also said ZEC should have consulted before gazetting the fees.
Zanu PF director of commissariat, mobilisation and elections Kizito Kuchekwa said they respected the independence of ZEC despite having their own concerns against the electoral management body.
ZEC spokesperson commissioner Jasper Mangwana, however, said a cheaper electronic format would be available “soon”. ^[27]

In Zanu PF's central committee report to the 7th national people’s congress in Harare in November 2022, it was reported that its legal department conducted a mini-audit of the voters’ roll and unearthed irregularities. It pointed out that the voters’ roll to be used in next year’s general elections has several anomalies. ^[28]

On 8 November 2022, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission rejected reports that the voters’ roll is inaccessible and unaffordable for the majority of citizens. [[Jasper Mangwana] said any registered voter could walk into their offices and inspect the voter’s roll free of charge.
He said for a soft copy of the national roll any individual or organisation can get it for US$200. He argued that the US$187 000 price set for a physical copy of the voters’ roll was meant to guard against the manipulation and abuse of the voters’ roll. ^[29]

2023 Delimitation Report

In February 2023, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was urged to make it clear whether the delimitation report it submitted to President Emmerson Mnangagwa was final or not. When ZEC chair Justice Priscilla Chigumba submitted the report to Mnangagwa at State House, she revealed that the document was the final delimitation report and said she expected the President to gazette the report within 14 days. However, government spokesperson Ndavaningi Mangwana, Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba, and the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Ziyambi Ziyambi said the report was not final.

ZEC failed to respond to questions. Spokesperson Jasper Mangwana referred the question to Justice Priscilla Chigumba. However her office gave no response, despite repeatedly promising to do so. ZEC chief elections officer Uitloile Silaigwana requested the question in writing but had not responded. Chief director for presidential communications, Anyway Mutambudzi said ZEC should respond on whether the report submitted to Mnangagwa was final or not. Constitutional lawyer Lovemore Madhuku said it is critical for ZEC to state its position on the report. Said Madhuku: Whether the report submitted is final or not should not be a private issue. Everyone at ZEC, from the messenger to the doorman, should know the exact position on that report. This is a simple issue. That answer is a very critical one that must be given to the public so that they are informed of the correct position. No one must put pressure on the President but on ZEC. It has the mandate to manage elections and not the President. ^[30]

Emmerson Mnangagwa said he received the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s final delimitation report on 17 February 2023. He gazetted the ZEC delimitation report with notable changes to the boundaries of wards, the house of assembly and senatorial constituencies for use in the forthcoming general elections, in an Extraordinary Gazette under Statutory Instrument 14 of 2023. ^[31]

2023 Documents

In March 2023, ZEC responded to local publication to confirm voting information. It cited a statement issued by ZEC acting chief elections officer Jane Chigidji on 21 March 2023.

• To vote – one must produce proof of identity. A national ID or a valid Zimbabwean passport.
• To register to vote – before the elections at a voter registration centre – one must produce proof of identity as above and proof of residence.

You do not need proof of residence to vote, only for voter registration.

^[32]

References