ZESN PRELIMINARY STATEMENT ON THE 9 DECEMBER 2023 BY-ELECTIONS

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) observed the 9 December 2023 by-elections to determine whether elections complied with national, regional and international standards of electoral integrity. These by-elections were conducted in Lupane East, Binga North, Beitbridge West, Bulawayo South, Lobengula-Magwegwe, Mpopoma-Mzilikazi, Nketa and Cowdray Park. National Assembly and Local Authority vacancies arose following recalls of nine (9) incumbent legislators and 17 Councillors. The recalled Members of the National Assembly mainly from the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) who the ‘interim secretary general’ Sengezo Tshabangu declared had ceased to be members of the political party with effect from 3 October 2023 are; Read More

ACTIVITY HIGHLIGHTS ON CVE ROADSHOWS

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) organized, coordinated and convened two roadshows at Cowdray Park Terminus and at Efusini Shopping Centre in Makokoba, Bulawayo on 2 December 2023. The Civic and Voter Education (CVE) roadshows were organised to sensitize and encourage registered voters in the two constituencies to go and vote in peace on 9 December 2023. A call was made to the participants to cascade the peace message to other constituencies also scheduled to hold by-elections on 9 December. Read More

ZESN PRELIMINARY STATEMENT ON THE CHINHOYI MUNICIPALITY WARD 2 BY-ELECTION

Harare- 03 December 2023– In the spirit of promoting democratic elections in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) observed Local Authority by-election on 2 December, 2023 in Chinhoyi Municipality Ward 2. The by-election in which Zimbabwe African National Unity Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) won the seat was held to fill in a vacancy that arose in the Ward following the death of the incumbent Councillor Patricia Chibaya of the Citizens Coalition for Change ( CCC).

Legal Framework

The by-election was held in accordance with Section 121 A of the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13) following the death of the incumbent Councillor. The Nomination Court sat at the office of the Town Clerk in Chinhoyi on Friday 27 October 2023 for the purposes of receiving nominations of candidates for the vacant ward. The Nomination Court approved the candidature of Jonasi Hamilton of CCC and Mutevani Walter of ZANU-PF.

Observation methodology

ZESN trained and deployed 4 static observers who were accredited by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to observe the Local Authority by-election. The observers were deployed to four (4) polling stations a few days before polling to observe the electoral and political developments ahead of the polls. The findings and recommendations of this preliminary statement are made in reference to the Electoral Laws of Zimbabwe, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Principles and Guidelines Governing the Conduct of Democratic Elections as well as other regional and African election guidelines and principles. This preliminary statement is based on reports received from the ZESN observers.

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November 11, 2023, By-Election Report

November 11 by-elections were held to fill vacancies in five (5) Local Authority Wards and one (1) National Assembly Constituency. By-elections were held for the National Assembly and Local Authority following the deaths of candidates and incumbent respectively.

Nomination Courts sat on October 10 to consider candidates in respective Local Authorities and in Masvingo for the National Assembly Constituency. In the run-up to the by-elections ZESN deployed Long-Term Observers (LTOs and Short-term Observers (STOs) to observe the political environment and other key electoral related processes. The observations established that the environment was largely peaceful, with isolated cases of violations. In its observations, ZESN focused on, among other things, the campaigns, voter education, polling day processes, counting, collation and announcement of results. Read More

The Route Towards the 2023 Harmonised Elections in Zimbabwe

The Republic of Zimbabwe conducts harmonised elections every five years. The 2018 electoral environment was a momentous one in the country’s electoral history. The interest in the election was marked by various descriptions such as “watershed elections”, “elections of our lifetime”, and “apocalyptic elections” (Njeru, 2018: 8). Stakeholders had varied expectations and fears for the process and outcome. A case in point was the transition from politics centred around personalities, patronage, and clientelism to an era of issue-based, competitive politics where democratic values are entrenched and the return to macroeconomic stabilisation” (Zimbabwe Council of Churches, 2018: 12). Read More