With an estimated three (3) months before the holding of harmonised elections in Zimbabwe, the
country is already in election mode with evident electioneering from political parties and other stakeholders. Zimbabwe’s main political parties have already started preparing for the elections as shown by how they are mobilising citizens to register to vote and have started holding rallies and campaign activities.

Although many preparations have been made for the elections, there is still much that needs to
be improved for the environment to ensure peaceful, transparent and credible elections. Zimbabwe has an unfortunate history of contested electoral outcomes. This is because the legal, administrative and political frameworks still have gaps that need to be attended to in order to ensure the discharge of democratic elections. Some of the issues that still need to be attended to include the need to enhance the Independence of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), and other independent commissions connected to the electoral cycle, ensuring the full participation of women, the youth and persons with disability in the electoral process, as voters and candidates as well as the need to review the legal provisions around voter registration and the voters’ roll.

Another contentious issue is on the Delimitation Report which was settled through the Courts. Although improvements have been noted in the provisions for civic and voter education, there are still some deficiencies that need to be addressed. On the legal framework, the Electoral Amendment Bill that was first gazetted on the 18th of November 2022 if passed without taking into consideration issues raised by other stakeholders will be very inadequate. It only addresses a few nominal issues and leaves out a host of substantive electoral reforms that stakeholders have been calling for. In addition to that, very little of the recommendations from the Election Observer Missions that were made after the 2018 elections has been implemented.

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The Zambia general elections held on 12 August 2021 were the seventh since the reintroduction of multiparty democracy in 1991. Hakainde Hichilema, President of the United Party for National Development (UPND) emerged the victor for the Presidential seat. This was the sixth time for Hichilema to contest as a presidential candidate and the third time in a row where he was contesting against Dr. Edgar Lungu. Hichilema won by a margin of 59.4% of the votes cast while the President of the Patriotic Front (PF), President Lungu received 38.3% of the votes and was seeking a second term.

Following the invitation from the Zambian Government, and during the period leading to the elections, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) deployed a learning observation mission which was accredited by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to observe the polling day processes and those at the National Results Centre. The ZESN Team comprised of three observers drawn from the ZESN board, the secretariat, and a representative of the ZESN provincial taskforce. To enhance the ZESN Team’s understanding of the socio-economic and political contexts as well as election-related procedures and processes, the Team interacted with various stakeholders’ mostly domestic election observer groups, media, and civil society organizations in Zambia.

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This report is an account and analysis of events, which took place in Zimbabwe before, during and after the 2000 Parliamentary General Elections held on 24-25 June 2000. The information in this report has been collected by individuals and organisations from different sectors of Zimbabwean society. Information about what actually occurred at polling stations was collected by ZESN monitors some of whom were appointed by the ESC and accredited by the Registrar General…:more

The Zimbabwean parliamentary elections held on 31 March 2005 were the sixth since independence. But they were no less significant than previous elections. Although the country has held parliamentary elections every five years as per its Constitution, this has not meant that elections have been free from problems and controversy. Such was the case with the 2000 elections which were mired in intimidation, violence and controversy over the legitimacy of their outcome…. : more

Analysis of voting patterns at polling stations per constituency has been done to show how the people voted in those polling stations where ZESN observers were deployed. ZESN deployed about 6000 accredited observers countrywide but not all witnessed counting. This report does not cover five constituencies. ZESN data used in this report does not include postal votes….. : more

The 2002 Zimbabwean Presidential Election was without doubt the most highly contested, if not the most violent since the Independence election of 1980….. : more

While the 29 March harmonized elections and 27 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…………………… : more

On 31 July 2013 Zimbabwe held harmonised elections for the Presidency, the National Assembly, the Senate and local authorities. ZESN deployed 7 099 observers to every province and constituency in the country on 31 July 2013, set at the ‘Election Day’. Reports from observers during the election and throughout the entire process, demonstrated that the credibility of the 2013 harmonised elections was compromised by a systematic effort to disenfranchise many voters….More