10-March-2025 – The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) observed local authority by-elections held on 9 March 2025 in Chegutu Rural District Council (RDC) Ward 3 and Norton Town Council Ward 3. Both seats fell vacant following the deaths of the Councillors on 13 December 2024 and 2 January 2025.

Legal Framework

The by-elections were held in terms of 121A of the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13), which provides for filling vacancies arising in councils. The Nomination Court held sittings for purposes of receiving nominations of candidates for election as Councillors for the vacant Wards on Thursday 6 February 2025. Tsomondo Wilson Charamba of ZANU-PF and two (2) Independent candidates, Paradzai Preston Tanatswa and Munyeveri Walter were successfully nominated as candidates for the Norton Town Council Ward 3, while, Independent candidates Sibanda Tawanda and Murombedzi Stabile and Makofi Mahwinhei of ZANU-PF were duly nominated for Chegutu Rural District Council, paving way for a by-election.

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2 December 2024 – The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) observed local authority by-elections held on 30 November 2024 in Bindura Rural District Council (RDC) Ward 10 and Makoni RDC Ward 38. The Ward 1 Victoria Falls Municipality by-election was not held following the dismissal of an appeal by the Supreme Court by an aspiring independent candidate Ephias Mambume to nullify the High Court’s decision that disqualified him as a duly nominated candidate. The vacancy in Bindura RDC Ward 10 arose on 26 September 2024 following the death of the incumbent councillor, Cecilia Tsaura, of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC). In Makoni RDC, Ward 38, the seat became vacant following the resignation of incumbent councillor David Matambura Mutasa of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) on 18 September 2024. Whilst, a vacancy arose in Victoria Falls Municipality Ward 1 after the incumbent councillor, Ephias Mambume was recalled by his party, CCC.

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7 October 2024 – In line with its mission to promote democratic free and fair electoral processes through objectively and impartially observing elections in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) observed the Ward 15 by-election in Umzingwane District, Matabeleland South. Ward 15 is a new Ward that was formed during the 2023 delimitation process. The by-election was held following the death of Councillor Handsome Sibanda.

Legal Framework
The by-election was held under Sections 50 and 121A of the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13) for the National Assembly and Local Authority Councillors following the passing on of the incumbent Councillor.
Nomination Court for the by-elections sat on 5 September 2024 at Umzingwane Rural District Council’s Offices. The three (3) candidates who submitted their nomination papers, successfully met the Nomination Court’s requirements. The candidates’ names were Sifelani Dube of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), Sanele Ndlovu (Independent) and Victor Phiri of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).

Observation Methodology
ZESN trained and deployed five (5) observers to track polling day procedures including polling station set-up, opening, voting, counting and results announcement.
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 and other regional and African election guidelines and principles. This preliminary statement is based on reports received from the accredited ZESN observers.

Pre-election Observations
ZESN observers reported that the campaign period was relatively peaceful with no incidents. The environment allowed for electoral contestants across the political divide to canvass for votes. The ZANU-PF party had the most visible campaigns which included the holding of rallies and meetings which were addressed by party leaders including members of parliament of some of the constituencies in the province.

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ZESN participated in the Masvingo Agricultural Show, which ran under the theme “Moving Towards Economic Development and Growth.” The Agricultural Show attracted a diverse audience from all walks of life particularly the elderly. The ZESN exhibition booth became a space for vibrant discussions on elections, democracy, and civic responsibility. Elderly people demonstrated notable electoral knowledge, while the youth turnout was lower than anticipated.

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15-September-2024 – The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) joins the global community in commemorating International Democracy Day, observed annually on September 15. This year’s theme, “Artificial Intelligence as a Tool for Good Governance,” highlights both the opportunities and challenges of integrating AI into electoral processes. Established by the UN General Assembly in 2007, International Democracy Day promotes the reflection on democracy’s global state and encourages governments to enhance democratic practices.

ZESN views Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a tool with transformative potential in Zimbabwe’s elections. AI can improve various aspects of electoral systems, such as enhancing voter registration through biometric voter registration (BVR) and improving the transparency of vote counting. The technology offers increased efficiency, accuracy, and the ability to detect electoral fraud by analyzing data patterns and irregularities.

Despite these advantages, the Network expresses concern over the lack of transparency in AI systems. Stakeholders such as election observers and civil society have raised concerns about the opacity of AI algorithms. Without proper oversight, AI could be misused to manipulate voter data, reinforce biases, or disenfranchise voters—issues that are particularly troubling in Zimbabwe, where electoral integrity has historically been a sensitive matter.

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This position paper attempts to interrogate whether and under which conditions
Zimbabwe might maintain a right to decide to recall or ‘un-elect’ those elected
representatives. A recall is a ‘mechanism to allow the removal of an elected official from
1 office before his or her term is complete, without waiting for the next general election’ .
From the premise of normative democratic theory, it is a valuable instrument of direct
democracy that can give citizens more control over their representatives to expand
opportunities for reinforcing legitimate and responsive governance and continuous
accountability. This conceptualisation is more relevant in a political system based on
representative democracy where citizens vote for representatives to act on their behalf
2 and in their interest. Yet once elected, officials do not exclusively represent their parties
that nominated them to be candidates but must be representatives of the Zimbabwean
People. This raises the global question as to whether and under which conditions voters
3 might maintain a right to decide to recall or ‘un-elect’ those elected representatives.

To provide insights to the question, a review was made to the relevant constitutional
provisions, constitutional court rulings and related literature and the experiences of other
jurisdictions in Europe, United Kingdom, North America, Latin America and Africa. One
critical observation was that recalls are more prevalent in most undeveloped, emerging
and semi- democratic states compared to more developed democracies. Yet the power
to recall entails a citizen led rather than a party centric process. Within these global trends,
it is observed that Zimbabwe, a semi-democratic state, first enacted recall laws in the late
1980s as a ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party
strategy to ensure hegemonic control over their rivalries. However, some dominant
opposition elites or reformists during the 2013 constitution making process, argued for its
retention not necessarily as a tool to empower citizens but to largely contain excesses of a
competitive authoritarian state by precluding the real possibilities of solicited and
opportunistic defections by elected officials for personal prebends and to promote the
stability and control of their political parties.

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