EU EOM preliminary report exposes ZEC mismanagement, shambolic Voters Roll
By Staff Writer
THE European Union (EU) Elections Observer Mission (EOM) preliminary report has laid bare mismanagement of the polls by the Zimbabwe Elections Commission (ZEC) highlighting that the polls were hinged on a shambolic Voters’ Roll.
The report published late Friday afternoon is partly in sync with earlier observations made by the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the African Union which made glaring inconsistencies of the polls.
The Western bloc observed that as election day neared, transparency concerns about ZEC operations intensified as the elections organ did not adequately address public concerns, including related to the accuracy of the voter register, candidate registration, and the design, printing, and delivery of ballot papers.
“These controversies underscored the need for ZEC to communicate more transparently to enhance public confidence. ZEC seconded some 150,000 temporary staff, mainly civil servants, to serve in its bodies established at constituency, ward, and polling station levels.
“The selection process, as managed by ZEC, lacked transparency, and there were no legal or administrative measures in place to guarantee their impartiality. Positively, the training sessions for lower-level commission members were assessed by EU EOM observers as being comprehensive and effective, overall,” said the bloc.
The EU said Election Day and results management procedures were provided to polling station personnel as training manuals but not published in any other formats despite the guidelines reflecting recent legislative changes.
The organ placed detailed emphasis on the integrity of the voters’ roll which remained a significant point of contention.
ZEC was accused of not informing the public of its efforts to verify the accuracy of the voter registration data, remove potential duplicates or erroneous entries, or protect voters’ personal data.
“Despite a legal obligation to initiate the deregistration of voters residing abroad for over 18 months, this provision was not enforced, which authorities attributed to a lack of information. ZEC has periodically announced the removal of deceased people from the voters’ roll, based on monthly information from the Registrar General.
“The most recent update was published in February 2023. The law entitles stakeholders to obtain both electronic and hard copies of the voters’ roll “within a reasonable period of time after calling an election,” said the organ.
The EU said leading up to the elections, ZEC refrained from providing electronic copies of the register to political parties and civil society, citing concerns over potential data manipulation.
Additionally, the Western Bloc said in contradiction to legal provisions that mandate a fee reflecting reasonable cost, ZEC imposed a charge of US$187 000 for each hard copy (USD 1 per page). After persistent requests and two legal challenges by CCC against ZEC, it eventually released the final electronic voters’ roll to parties on 10 July.
“An analysis by concerned citizens, initiated in mid-July, alleged several inconsistencies and inaccuracies in the voters’ roll. These included voters listed to vote in incorrect constituencies and wards, discrepancies between the gazetted constituency boundaries and voter registration data, the use of duplicate or non-existent identification numbers, and a potentially excessive number of voters registered at certain residential addresses.
“While some of these issues might have impacted the right to vote for a potentially high number of voters, ZEC did not publicly address these concerns,” the EU said.
The EU EOM said candidate registration requirements include supporting signatures from registered voters and a fee of US$20 000 for presidential candidates and US$1 000 for candidates to the parliament which is a 20-fold increase and numerous parties and candidates stated that this is an unreasonable hurdle of candidacy.
“Moreover, in most cases, only cash payments were accepted, preventing many candidates from registering and triggering numerous court cases. At least 170 were denied on this basis, but Elisabeth Valerio won her appeal to become the only woman presidential candidate.
“Overall, the environment was not always conducive to the making of a free and informed choice. The atmosphere was subdued but underpinned by palpable tensions. Despite appeals for peace by national and international actors, instances of violence, including battery, arson and kidnappings were noted by EU EOM, especially in rural areas.3 Cases increased as election day neared,” said the organ,” the organ said.
The mission observed that a CCC supporter was killed in a so-called opposition no-go area; 15 people were arrested and charged, pending trial. The intimidating presence of Forever Associates of Zimbabwe (FAZ), was observed by the EU EOM at many rallies.
Incidences where several observers received first-hand reports of coerced/incentivised attendance at ZANU-PF events and cases of the latter’s supporters disturbing other parties’ rallies were observed in several areas were highlighted.
“On the eve of elections, there were credible organisations reporting that internet speeds had been significantly downgraded. This throttling affected the country’s four main Internet service providers.
“The EU EOM also identified hundreds of troll accounts highly active on X, pushing disinformation and counter-narratives in support of the main two parties. The EU EOM was also trolled by these accounts, with disinformation campaigns that included defamatory and malicious accusations,” added EU.
