Judging from past events, the Zimbabwe political landscape is a minefield that has generated acrimonious relations between the two major political parties in Zimbabwe, ZANU-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Pre-election violence, accusations and counter-accusations of electoral fraud and litigations have characterised the elections in Zimbabwe since 2000. Such a political climate calls for an electoral process capable of healing the wounds resultant of the political tension obtaining in the country since the dawning of the new millennium….. : more

The Constitution Amendment Bill Number 18 that is before parliament is seeking, for the first time in the history of the country, to mandate an electoral management body (EMB), the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), to mark constituency boundaries….. : more

Long-term election monitoring refers to the systematic observation over a period of time prior to, and after an election process, to assess different aspects of the electoral process in order to provide an independent evaluation of its fairness. This process enables election observer groups to make an objective assessment of the environment under which the elections are held….. : more

THE on-going voter registration exercise should, ideally, be the first step towards ensuring popular participation in governance issues by all citizens who are 18 years and above. When implemented transparently and with wide consultation, the exercise should form the basis on which a country can build or consolidate its mutation into a full democracy. This therefore, requires that the exercise of registering new voters and updating of information on those already registered be a transparent, thorough and democratic endeavour absolved from the pitfalls of negligent workmanship, electoral chicanery or any cosmetic and superficial “renovations” that seek to portray the system as normal when, in fact, it is not. …. : more

The recent presidential and parliamentary elections in Sierra Leone on 11 August 2007 where the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), under the auspices of the African Union (AU) and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) send some observers, were an eye opener and a living testimony of how other African countries have evolved democratically. Most importantly, the Sierra Leone elections exhibited the gateway to electoral credibility in a country whose previous elections were littered with irregularities. This was Sierra Leone’s first post conflict election managed by a local electoral management body after the 2002 which was managed by the United Nations….. : more

Fundamental to understanding the repression, exclusion and general oppression of women is the need to understand how systems the world over, political, social and economic, have contributed to the subjugation of women. And any form of movement, feminist or otherwise, that seeks to fully subvert the subservient position that women find themselves in, has to initially deal with the idea of grounding understanding of this oppression in theory and practice. It is in light of this that electoral systems have to be choreographed in a manner that ensures women get fair representation….. : more

AN ANALYSIS BY THE ZIMBABWE ELECTION SUPPORT NETWORK…. : more

Taking cognisant of the current political developments and the need for further electoral reforms in Zimbabwe, participants of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network’s National Workshop on Electoral Conflict Management and Electoral Reform resolved as follows:…. : more

Sound management is critical to the success of any election process hence increasing calls across the world for constitutionally established and professionally run bodies called Election Management Bodies [EMBs]…………. : more

Voting is every citizen’s right. No eligible national citizen should be deprived of registration or the right to vote as a result of being homeless, ill, out of the country, in prison……….. : more