ZIMBABWE ELECTION Report on the SUPPORT NETWORK (ZESN) June 10, 2015

Parliamentary By- elections

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... 3 ACRONYMS ...... 4 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 5 2. INTRODUCTION ...... 7 3. BACKGROUND ...... 8 4. LEGAL FRAMEWORK ...... 9 4.1. Legal framework for the by-election ...... 9 4.2. Nomination Processes ...... 9 5. ELECTION ADMINISTRATION ...... 10 5.1. Administration of the Elections ...... 10 5.2. Voter Education ...... 11 6. VOTER REGISTER ...... 13 6.1. The Right to Vote ...... 13 6.2. Voter Registration and inspection of the voters’ roll ...... 13 6.3. Provision of the Voters’ Roll ...... 14 7. ELECTION CAMPAIGNS ...... 15 7.1. Campaign Regulations and Financing ...... 15 7.2. Political rights ...... 16 7.3. Election Campaigns ...... 16 8. MEDIA AND ELECTIONS ...... 19 9. GENDER EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS ...... 21 9.1. Gender Equality and Special Needs Groups ...... 21 10. ELECTION PETITIONS ...... 22 11. ELECTION DAY OBSERVATIONS ...... 24 12. RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 26 13. CONCLUSION ...... 27 ANNEX 1: BY-ELECTION RESULTS ...... 28 ANNEX 2: DISTRIBUTION OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SEATS ...... 29 ANNEX 3: DISTRIBUTION OF SENATE SEATS ...... 30 ANNEX 4: DISTRIBUTION OF SENATE SEATS ...... 31

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Election Support Network (ZESN) is grateful and indebted to the member organisations and volunteers who made observation of the by-elections possible. This includes ZESN members who assisted in recruitment and pre-planning processes. Without their support this would have been a difficult task.

ZESN is indebted to volunteers who observed electoral processes, voter registration and election day processes, dedicating time and effort. ZESN observers also objectively reported on the processes. Without their effort this and other reports by ZESN on the elections would not have been possible.

ZESN commends the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) whose cooperation is indispensable to our successful election observation.

ZESN also commends citizens of Zimbabwe for voting in a relatively peaceful environment during these by-elections.

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ACRONYMS

ACHPR African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights

AU African Union

GNDEM The Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors

ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

MDC-T Movement for Democratic Change -Tsvangirai

MMPZ Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe

MPLCs Multi-party Liaison Committees

MPLCs Multi Party Liaison Committees

UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights

ZANU-PF Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic

ZEC Zimbabwe Electoral Commission

ZESN Zimbabwe Election Support Network

ZHRC Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On 10 June 2015, The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) conducted National Assembly by-elections in 16 Constituencies in 6 provinces namely Harare, Bulawayo, Midlands, Manicaland, Matabeleland North and Mashonaland West. The by-elections were necessitated by the fact that both the ZANU-PF and the MDC-T invoked section 129 (1) (k) of the Constitution which states that a Member of Parliament’s (MP) seat becomes vacant if the MP has ceased to belong to the political party of which he or she was a member when elected to Parliament and the political party concerned, by written notice to the Speaker of Parliament, or the President of the Senate, as the case may be, informs parliament of the same.

Following the invitation of ZEC, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) deployed 158 static observers for the by-elections based at some of the Ward and Constituency Collation Centres. In addition 42 mobile observers were deployed.

Zimbabwe’s Electoral Legal framework generally, provides a basis for the conduct of credible elections, also in line with the country’s regional and international commitments. Notwithstanding this, there remains a need for electoral and political reforms as the prevailing polarised political environment and a culture of intimidation and threats has a negative impact on the professional conduct and management of elections by electoral and related state institutions. Piecemeal approach to electoral reform persists and alignment of electoral laws to the Constitution remains incomplete. The intimidatory behaviour of the dominant political party, ZANU-PF, during the pre-electoral and electoral period made the playing field uneven. The situation was compounded by the fact that Multi-party Liaison Committees (MPLCs) that were set up were ineffective. The electoral law provides for the creation of MPLCs to enforce the Code of conduct for political parties laid out in the Fourth Schedule of the Electoral Act as well as supporting ZEC’s efforts to manage conflict between political parties contesting the by-elections.

The pre-electoral environment was marred by reports of widespread voter intimidation, actions that constituted vote buying, abuse of state resources and traditional leaders. Political parties and candidates were as a result not able to campaign freely in some of the constituencies, such as Hurungwe West. Media coverage of the by-elections was unbalanced. In the state owned media, election news coverage was skewed in favour of ZANU-PF while a number of editorials in the same media were not objective and inaccurate.

ZESN observed that ZEC received only USD$4 million from Government instead of projected the USD$22 million.1 Inadequate funding for electoral processes threatened the smooth implementation of election logistics. For instance the accreditation of election observers was only decentralised to the constituencies where by-elections were scheduled only six days before polling day, hence planning and deployment of domestic election observers by local Civic groups was negatively affected.

1 ZEC ready for by-elections: http://www.zbc.co.zw/news-categories/top-stories/53963-zec- ready-for-by-elections

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Since 2007, when the last delimitation exercise was conducted, there have been significant changes in the demographics of all the constituencies in Zimbabwe. A comparison of Dangamvura/Chikanga and Highfield West constituencies provides an example of constituencies that now have discrepancies between voting populations of up to 57%. The Constitution in section 161 envisaged that these discrepancies, at the completion of boundary delimitation, would not exceed 20%. Because of the changes in demographics Zimbabwe now has some constituencies that either have 20% more or 20% less registered voters when compared with other constituencies. The need for boundary delimitation cannot be over –emphasised as this exercise will restore equality of voting strengths in all constituencies.

On Election Day, 99% of the polling stations where ZESN observed successfully completed opening and setup procedures on time and voting proceeded smoothly at all polling stations. Counting was reported to have taken place according to procedure and results were displayed outside the polling stations. At all the ward and constituency collation Centres where ZESN observed, all party agents agreed that the process had gone well and signed the V11 form. However some political parties and independent candidates failed to deploy agents at all polling stations. For instance in Tsholotsho only ZANU PF party agents were present in all the polling stations where ZESN observed. Reports from observers indicated that in a number of constituencies, suspected ZANU PF officials and village heads were recording the details of voters before they arrived at a polling station and after the voter had cast their vote.

Although polling day was relatively peaceful, and polling went on smoothly, the pre- electoral period was marred by incidents of violence, intimidation, and vote buying. The elections were held in an uneven playing field where some of the candidates and their supporters were not able to freely express themselves through campaigns. The media coverage of the elections was skewed in favour of the ruling political party, ZANU PF. Election preparations were negatively affected by late disbursement of funding for the by- elections. The funding was also inadequate. All these challenges compromised the credibility of the by-elections.

ZESN proposes the following recommendations in order to improve future electoral processes:

i. The Executive should demonstrate political will to fully align electoral law to the Constitution by supporting a comprehensive review of the electoral law. This will address aspects like voter education constraints, voter registration, electoral court shortcomings and the right to vote for all Zimbabweans. There is need for holistic, and comprehensive, electoral legislation rather than piecemeal reforms. ii. ZEC capacity and independence - Government needs to avail adequate resources for electoral processes so as to enable ZEC to prepare and carry its mandate effectively. There is also need to professionalise and capacitate ZEC Secretariat. There is need for ZEC to report to Parliament on its election management processes. The Electoral

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law should empower ZEC to make additional regulations that enhance election transparency without reference to or approval of the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. iii. The Police and Human Rights Commission should be impartial in the investigation of allegations of electoral malpractices, violence among others. This to ensure adherence to the code of conduct by political parties and mitigate future occurrences.. iv. ZEC and Political parties should support the work and existence of MPLCs throughout the electoral cycle as they can provide effective alternative dispute resolution to electoral conflicts. v. There is need for effective stakeholder engagement on the voter registration methodology and resourcing of the process that ZEC will use for 2018 elections. There is also need for independent and ZEC sponsored audits of the voter’s roll so as to determine the extent to which the current voters roll adhere to established principles. vi. ZEC should invest in comprehensive and innovative voter education initiatives that address issues of fear and intimidation of the electorate. vii. Need for a review of the Political Parties Finance Act to allow for transparency and accountability, and to support the development of effective systems of regulation of party and campaign finances. This System should include disclosure, limits on expenditure and monitoring of party and campaign finances. viii. There is need to revisit the issue of boundary delimitation as demographics have changed significantly since 2007 when the last delimitation exercise was conducted.

The recommendations above can only be fulfilled when there is adequate political will and commitment by the political actors in Government.

2. INTRODUCTION Zimbabwe Election Support Network was formed in 2000 and is a coalition of 31 non- governmental organisations. The major focus of the Network is to promote democratic processes in general and free and fair elections in particular. ZESN is the secretariat of the Southern Africa Development Community Election Support Network (SADC-ESN) and is a member of The Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM).

Following the invitation of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), ZESN deployed observers to observe the June 10, 2015 National Assembly by-elections. The by-elections were held in 16 Constituencies located in six provinces namely Harare, Bulawayo, Midlands, Manicaland, Matabeleland North and Mashonaland West.

ZESN relied on reports from its field officers who observed the pre-electoral period and 158 observers who observed the Election Day processes.

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ZESN is independent in its findings and conclusions. and ZESN election observation missions are guided by the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Electoral Laws of the Country and a number of regional and international conventions and declarations which Zimbabwe is signatory to such as the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

ZESN is also guided by the GNDEM’s Declaration of Global Principles for Nonpartisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations, Code of Conduct for Nonpartisan Citizen Election Observers.

3. BACKGROUND

The 16 national assembly seats were declared vacant by the Speaker of Parliament, after ZANU-PF and MDC-T invoked section 129 of the Constitution which provides for the tenure of the seat of Parliament. Specifically section 129(1) (k) provides that the seat of a MP becomes vacant “if the Member has ceased to belong to the political party of which he or she was a member when elected to Parliament and the political party concerned, by written notice to the Speaker of Parliament, or the President of the Senate, as the case may be, has ceased to belong to it.”

The Speaker of Parliament received written notification from both ZANU-PF and MDC-T indicating the names of Members of Parliament that had ceased to be their members and therefore were no longer representing their respective parties’ interests in Parliament.

The intensification of intra-party tensions and fissures in ZANU-PF and MDC-T formations resulted in a number of senior members ceasing to be part of their political parties. Within ZANU PF this was as a result of expulsions on allegations of being aligned with the former Vice President, Joyce Mujuru who in turn is accused of plotting to overthrow President . In the MDC parties, continued bickering and attempts by a breakaway formation led by former Finance Minister, to unite with another MDC breakaway party, resulted in the mainstream MDC-T party, led by asking parliament to expel Biti and his team from Parliament. Two of the 16 seats were from ZANU PF which expelled its former National Assembly representatives; former Zanu PF Mashonaland West provincial chairman- Temba Mliswa, who was also MP for Hurungwe West and former ZANU PF Secretary for Administration, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Didymus Mutasa, and MP for Headlands.

The remaining 14 seats belonged to MDC-T legislators who left the party and subsequently formed their own political party, the MDC Renewal. These legislators were:

i. BITI, Tendai (Harare East) ii. MADZIMURE, Willias (Kambuzuma)

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iii. MATIBENGA, Lucia (Kuwadzana) iv. MADZORE, Paul (Glen View) v. MOYO, Reggie (Luveve) vi. MADZORE, Solomon (Dzivaresekwa) vii. NYATHI, Bekithemba (Mpopoma/Pelandaba) viii. MANYENGAVANA, Moses (Highfield West) ix. MHLANGA, Albert (Pumula) x. NKOMO, Sipepa (Lobengula) xi. NKOMO, Roseline (Tsholotsho) xii. CHIKWINYA, Settlement (Mbizo) xiii. MOYO, Gorden (Makokoba) xiv. TSUNGA, Arnold (Chikanga-Dangamvura)

4. LEGAL FRAMEWORK

4.1. Legal framework for the by-election The Constitution, Electoral Act, Statutory Instruments and Regulations form part of the Legal framework governing the conduct of by-elections.

The Legal framework requires that set polling dates comply with both section 158(3) and 159 of the Constitution, and section 39 of the Electoral Act, both of which require voting in a by-election to be completed within 90 days of the vacancy occurring. Regrettably ZESN notes a worrying trend where the Executive continually fails to adhere to the letter and spirit of both the Constitution and the Electoral Act by setting polling dates that are outside the prescribed period. Compliance with the Constitution and the electoral law would have been achieved if polling was set for the beginning of June 2015, since the MDC-T notifications were received on 4th March 2015. Furthermore previous statutory instruments ordering other by-elections held this year (Mount Darwin West, Chirumanzu-Zibagwe, Wedza North, Headlands and Hurungwe West) have also disregarded this 90 day deadline.

In accordance with section 39 of the Electoral Act, Government is required to gazette statutory instruments within 14 days of receipt of notification of the vacancies from the Speaker of Parliament. The statutory instruments must fix the nomination days and polling days respectively. Presidential Proclamation (SIs 35 and 36/2015), ordered the holding of by-elections to fill two National Assembly constituency vacancies (Hurungwe West and Headlands) while (SI 39/2015) ordered by-elections to be held for the remaining 14 national assembly vacancies.

4.2. Nomination Processes

All the MPs unseated in terms of section 129(1)(k) of the Constitution went to the Constitutional Court challenging their expulsion from Parliament and declaration of vacancies in their constituencies. The Chief Justice allowed urgent hearings during the court’s Easter vacation, Mr Mutasa and Mr Mliswa on 1st April and the Renewal Team members on the 14th of April 2015. On each occasion, having heard arguments from both

9 | P a g e sides, the court unanimously dismissed the challenges as being “without merit”. The Chief Justice said detailed reasons would be delivered later. These decisions cleared the way for the nomination courts to be held on 8 April and 16 April, respectively. Polling took place on Wednesday 10 June, 2015.

In terms of Section 47 (17) (c) of the Electoral Act, if at the close of nomination court, more than one person has been duly nominated for election for a constituency, a poll shall take place in accordance with this Part and Part XIII2 of the Electoral Act. Nominations for the Hurungwe and Headlands by-elections were held on 8 April, 2015 while those for the other 14 by-elections were held on 16 April, 2015. At the close of the respective nomination courts 104 candidates had successfully filed their nomination papers. The MDC formations did not forward any candidates arguing the absence of adequate electoral reforms hence the decision to boycott the by-elections.

104 candidates from 12 political parties and some independent candidates contested the national assembly seats in various constituencies. Below is the list of political parties that contested the by-elections:

i. African Democratic Party (ADP) ii. Democratic Assembly for Restoration and Empowerment (DARE) iii. FC Party iv. FF Party v. Freedom Front Party (FFP) vi. Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn (MKD) vii. National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) viii. Progressive and Innovative Movement of Zimbabwe (PIMZ) ix. Progressive Democrats of Zimbabwe (PDZ) x. Transform Zimbabwe (TZ) xi. Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) xii. Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU)

5. ELECTION ADMINISTRATION

5.1. Administration of the Elections

Section 239 of the Constitution gives the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the mandate to conduct and supervise elections and election related activities. However the capacity to deliver this mandate is negatively affected by the inability of Government to avail adequate resources timeously. ZESN observed that ZEC received only USD$4 million from Government instead of the projected USD$22 million.3 Inadequate funding for electoral processes threatened the smooth implementation of election logistics. For instance the

2 Part XIII refers to preparation for and voting at poll 3 ZEC ready for by-elections: http://www.zbc.co.zw/news-categories/top-stories/53963-zec- ready-for-by-elections

10 | P a g e accreditation for election observers was only decentralised to the constituencies, where by- elections were scheduled, only six days before polling day, hence planning and deployment of domestic election observers by local CSOs was negatively affected.

Despite the perennial funding challenges that ZEC faces the commission continues to make commendable efforts to enfranchise voters. ZEC largely completed administrative and logistical preparations on time for the elections; in particular distribution of election material to polling stations was on schedule. However these efforts are tainted by the perceived unwillingness by the Commission to publicly condemn and take action against intimidation and violence which contravene the political party’s code of conduct. As a result elections were conducted in an uneven environment in some constituencies.

5.2. Voter Education

In every election, voter and civic education are necessary to ensure that all constituents— men and women alike—understand their rights, political systems, contesting parties messages, and how and where to vote. For an election to be successful and democratic, voters must understand their rights and responsibilities, and must be sufficiently knowledgeable and well informed to cast ballots that are legally valid and to participate meaningfully in the voting process.4

Voter education is a resource intense exercise that ZEC has been unable to effectively deliver, and on a continuous basis, largely due to funding constraints. Section 239 of the Constitution gives ZEC the mandate of conducting and supervising voter education. Part IXA of the Electoral Act (sections 40A to 40F) goes much further. It gives ZEC a virtual monopoly over the provision of voter education and imposes several additional restrictions on its provision by other people such as Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) who can only engage in voter education at the invitation of the Commission. CSOs are required to print and use information that is provided for by the Commission in form of flyers, posters. Organisations invited by ZEC to conduct voter education were required to provide four voter educators per ward. The methodology used is mainly door to door, distribution of materials and addressing community gatherings. Political parties on the other hand are permitted to provide voter education but are however constrained by lack of financial resources and technical capacity to deliver voter education professional competence.

Section 40D (1) of the Electoral Act provides that not later than one week after publication of a proclamation or notice in terms of Section 38 or 39 fixing the dates of an election, the Commission shall begin a programme of voter education directed at the electorate.

ZESN recommends that the Commission engages stakeholders in formulations of innovative voter education programs that can leverage on the limited funding that both the Commission and its stakeholders have access to. Voter education content and messaging should be broadened and not just focus on the mechanics of voting but should be about enhancing knowledge, changing values, attitudes, behaviours and demystifying and allaying

4 Civic and Voter education: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/wps/publication/Chapter5.htm

11 | P a g e fears associated with elections and voting. The curriculum used for Voter Education should also be responsive to emerging needs and knowledge gaps such as the legal provisions for assisted voters, and the role of traditional leaders.

5.3 Polling Stations

In terms of Section 51 of the Electoral Act, polling stations should be located in neutral and accessible areas to the public including people with disabilities. The Electoral Commission is mandated to establish sufficient polling stations and the notice of the list should be publicised at least three weeks before and again on polling day.

In accordance with the law, the Commission established 510 polling stations for the by- elections. The list was not readily made available to the public as it was uploaded on the ZEC website, instead of publicising it in newspapers as provided by the law.

The table below indicates the number of polling stations allocated per constituency

Constituency Number of polling Number of Average voters per stations Registered Voters polling station Lobengula 27 25 727 953 Luveve 38 28 439 748 Makokoba 27 28 844 1068 Pelandaba- 30 26 740 891 Mpopoma Pumula 39 26 786 686 Dzivarasekwa 24 24 920 1038 Glen View South 21 25 975 1237 Harare East 27 36 062 1336 Highfield West 22 23 298 1059 Kambuzuma 22 24 284 1104 Kuwadzana 21 24 822 1182 Dangamvura- 39 40 900 1049 Chikanga Headlands 48 31 650 659 Hurungwe West 35 27 519 786 Tsholotsho North 70 30 339 433 Mbizo 20 26 353 1318 Table 1: Allocation of Polling Stations per Constituency

The voting population ranges from an average of 23 000 to 41 000, and is generally proportionate in all constituencies. From the table above, generally constituencies in the rural areas are allocated more polling stations than those located in the urban areas. For Constituencies located in Harare the average registered voters per polling station is generally an upwards of 1000. In the rural areas, this is much lower because of the

12 | P a g e dispersed human settlements. The Commission needs to properly allocate polling stations proportional to the registered voters, to enable the electorate to enjoy their right to vote.

The need for boundary delimitation cannot be overemphasised. Section 161(3)(4) of the Constitution requires that boundaries of constituencies/ward, must be to the extent possible, at the time of delimitation, contain equal numbers of registered voters. Since 2007, when the last delimitation exercise was conducted, there have been significant changes in the demographics of all the constituencies in Zimbabwe. A comparison of Dangamvura/Chikanga and Highfield West constituencies provides an example of constituencies that now have discrepancies between voting populations of up to 57%. The Constitution in section 161 envisaged that these discrepancies, at the completion of boundary delimitation, would not exceed 20%. Because of the changes in demographics we now have constituencies that either have 20% more or 20% less registered voters when compared with other constituencies. The need for boundary delimitation cannot be over – emphasised as this exercise will restore equality of voting strengths in all constituencies.

6. VOTER REGISTER

6.1. The Right to Vote

Section 67 of the Constitution guarantees political rights of Zimbabweans, including the freedom to form, join and to participate in activities of a political party or organisation of their own choice. The same section accords citizens the right to participate individually or collectively in peaceful activities that seek to influence, support or challenge policies of the Government policy or political cause. ZESN observed that the ability of citizens to enjoy these rights was curtailed by the uneven playing field as explained in section seven of this report. No new changes were observed since 2013 Constitutional provisions in relation to eligible voters being allowed to vote, such as people in prisons and those in the diaspora.

6.2. Voter Registration and inspection of the voters’ roll Effective voter registration is an important means of ensuring that the right to vote is protected. Voter registration is one means of promoting inclusive voting processes, while at the same time safeguarding against ineligible people.

Section 155 (2) (a) provides for the government to take all measures and ensure that all eligible citizens, that is to say the citizens qualified under the Fourth Schedule5, are registered as voters.

5 The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution contains qualifications and disqualifications for registration as a voter. A person is disqualified on grounds of mental disorder, incapable of managing their own affairs or has been convicted of an electoral offence.

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The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) conducted a seven day voter registration and voters roll inspection exercise which commenced from Wednesday 22 April to Tuesday 28 April 2015. This was a special exercise to cater for the 16 Parliamentary by-elections. The dates set for the exercises were in accordance with Section 26A of the Electoral Act which stipulates that the 12th day after nomination day is the last day for lodging a claim for registration on or transfer of registration to a voters roll for the purpose of voting in a pending election. Voters’ roll inspection was conducted in accordance with the Law in a total of 177 centres throughout the 16 constituencies from 10-14 May 2015.

Scope of the voter registration and inspection exercise was limited to the 16 constituencies in which by-elections were scheduled. ZEC used the voter’s rolls that were used during the 2013 harmonised elections as the basis for the exercise and persons whose names already appeared on these rolls were not re-registered. The Commission is reported to have registered more than 400,000 people in the 16 constituencies during this exercise.6 This translates into an average of 25,000 new voters per constituency. The percentage of new registrants is however not clear. ZESN therefore urges ZEC to make available statistics of those who participated in the voter registration and inspection exercises. This information will help stakeholders understand the effectiveness of the voter registration and inspection exercises.

ZESN remains concerned that the conduct of voter registration is not transparent enough. For instance stakeholders are not aware of the registration system that ZEC used, and the exact nature of the ‘pilot’ registration methodology that was used. There was no clarity on level of collaboration and cooperation with the Registrar-General. Stakeholders remain unclear on how the ZEC compiled data from the registration process, whether they have the software and the machinery that allows for them to make the appropriate updates to the voters roll. Publicity and transparency on this exercise was inadequate.

6.3. Provision of the Voters’ Roll According to Section 21 (1) of the Electoral Act, the Commission shall within a reasonable period of time provide any person who requests it, and who pays the prescribed fee, with a copy of any ward or constituency voters’ roll, either in printed or in electronic form as the person may request. The Electoral law also provides for provision of the voters’ roll upon payment of a prescribed fee to every party that intends to contest the election, and to any accredited observer who requests it, one copy of every voters’ roll to be used in the election, either in printed or in electronic form as the party or observer may request. The provision of the voters’ roll to stakeholders has been an issue of contention, raising questions on its integrity and credibility. The 2013 electronic version of the voters’ roll has not been given to stakeholders as the Registrar- General’s office has been faced with alleged technical problems of replicating the roll. For these by-elections, the Commission has made available copies of the constituency rolls to all the contesting candidates. Other stakeholders were also able to purchase the voters’ rolls for the 16 constituencies at the prescribed fee. This will go a long way in building confidence and trust in the running and management of elections amongst stakeholder and the ZEC.

6 Voice of America: Electoral Commission Says All Set for Zimbabwe Parly By-Elections http://m.voazimbabwe.com/a/zimbabwe-parliamentary-by-elections/2812278.html

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However ZESN remains concerned that the electronic voters’ rolls that were given to stakeholders are in a ‘non-readable format’ making the voters rolls very difficult to analyse. Consequently political parties are not able to effectively discharge their duty of assisting the Commission in the cleaning up of the voters roll, by identifying irregularities within the existing voter’s rolls. ZESN urges the Commission to make available voters’ rolls in a format that can be analysed as this will facilitate independent audit of the voters’ rolls.

7. ELECTION CAMPAIGNS

7.1. Campaign Regulations and Financing

All political parties need funding to play their part in the political process, yet political party financing is possibly the leading threat to democracy in many countries. The fear emanates from the fact that some political parties in power tend to respond to the interests of entities and individuals that provide the greatest financial support to their campaigns as opposed to the people who elected them. Hence the need for effective systems of regulation of party finances. Such a system requires a process which includes disclosure, limits on expenditure and monitoring of party campaign finance.

The Constitution and the Political Parties (Finance) Act as amended provides for state funding of political parties. The 1997 Amendments to the Act set the threshold of political parties that could receive state funding to political parties that have received 5% of votes cast in the previous general election. Subsequent amendments to the same Act states that by-election results must be used to recalculate the allocation for the parties. This adjustment should be made annually. Unfortunately votes cast for independent candidates are disregarded.

Since all political parties require funding to play their part in the political process, it may seem fair to decide that all political parties and candidates should have access to public funds; however such an approach creates the risk that people will form parties or run for office simply to get state funding. This will undeniably result in a waste of public resources. Nevertheless there is a need for stakeholders to continue interrogating the appropriate mechanisms that can help new entrants in politics to establish themselves as democracy only thrives when the playing field for political actors and political parties is level. Such a discussion is timely and relevant in light of the numerous challenges that independent candidates and smaller political parties continue to face when they try to participate in political processes. ZESN observed that campaigns for small political parties and independent candidates were significantly affected by limited resources while ZANU PF campaigns were robust owing to the party and candidates access to significantly larger amounts of resources. This contributed to the creation of an uneven playing field.

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7.2. Political rights

The Constitution recognises the right to freedom of assembly and association (Section 58), the right to freedom of conscience (section 61) and the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the media (Section 61). The Constitution also provides for the enjoyment of political rights by citizens.7 The New Constitution affords every Zimbabwean the right to make political choices freely8, to form, join and to participate in the activities of a political party or organization of their choice9, and otherwise participate individually or collectively in peaceful political activity10.

It is also the responsibility of the State to provide all political parties and candidates contesting an election with fair and equal access to electronic and print media, both public and private. The Constitution places an obligation on the ZEC to ensure that measures are put in place to eliminate electoral violence and other electoral malpractices and to ensure the safekeeping of electoral materials.11 All these provisions are meant to ensure that the electoral processes in Zimbabwe conform to the regional and international normative standards on democracy, good governance and elections.

7.3. Election Campaigns

The Fourth schedule of the Electoral Act contains a code of conduct for political parties that when respected, helps create an enabling environment for the conduct of free and fair elections and a climate of tolerance in which electioneering activities takes place without fear or coercion, intimidation or reprisals.

The fourth schedule of the electoral act also requires all political parties and candidates to publicly state that everyone has the right—

(i) to freely express their political beliefs and opinions; (ii) to freely challenge and debate the political beliefs and opinions of others; (iii) to freely canvass freely for membership and support from voters; (iv) to freely attend public meetings convened.

ZEC has a responsibility to educate electoral stakeholders including political parties and citizens on the code of conduct for political parties and investigate alleged breaches of this code. It is regrettable that political campaigns that have been held in the period leading up to the by-elections have largely contained narratives that are not issue based but rather cantered on hate speech, intimidation and inciteful language. The Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ) in their 2015 Report of the June 10 by-election noted that

7 See Section 67 of the Constitution, generally 8 Section 67(1)(b) of the Constitution 9 Section 67(2)(a) of the Constitution 10 Section 67 (2)(c) of the Constitution 11 Section 156(c) of the Constitution

16 | P a g e politicians were responsible for 40% of the recorded incidents of Hate speech while journalists and columnists were responsible to the remaining 60%. One of the many examples that can be cited includes the Herald newspaper 11 June 2015 edition which contained an editorial comment which likened Morgan Tsvangirai to “Lucifer” whilst his call for the boycott of the by-elections was said to be “childish”. The Herald argued, “We hail the voters even more for ignoring the childish call by the self-styled democrat, MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai, whose action and conduct show he is to democracy what Lucifer is to Christianity”12

Several independent candidates in the June 10 by-elections alleged that they faced serious intimidation in their respective constituencies and accused Zanu PF of deploying State security agents to instil fear in opposition supporters.13 During the same period the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, dispatched a monitoring team to Hurungwe West to establish the authenticity of claims of human rights violations by one of the contesting candidates. However the report was not made public, at the time of writing this report.

During the pre-electoral period the media was awash with stories of how politicians were violating the code of conduct for political parties. In some instances these violations have been captured on video and uploaded to popular social media platforms such as YouTube. There were also reports of vote-buying and intimidation. These reports are consistent with findings of the Zimbabwe Peace Project which noted that campaigns for this election have been characterized by threats, intimidation, physical violence and vote buying through the distribution of rice and other commodities.14

ZESN was dismayed by comments made by ZANU PF Administrator and Minister of Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development Honourable at a rally in Hurungwe West. In a video recording of the meeting and subsequent news reports carried in the press, the Minister addressed headmen and chiefs in the constituency rolling out strategies to ensure electoral victory for ZANU PF in the forthcoming by-election. The Minister revealed how various mechanisms to monitor and disrupt campaigns and movement of independent candidate and former MP Temba Mliswa ahead of the by- elections that were held on June 1015.

During the pre-electoral period ZESN also noted with concern the abuse of traditional leaders who were instructed to campaign for ZANU PF. This was not only inappropriate but constituted an offence as section 45(2) of the Traditional Leaders Act does not permit

12 Herald Newspaper. 11 June 2015: Thank you Zimbabwe for respective the vote. http://www.herald.co.zw/editorial-comment-thank-you-zimbabwe-for-respecting-the-vote/ 13 Independent candidates bemoan intimidation before by-elections https://www.newsday.co.zw/2015/06/05/independent-candidates-bemoan-intimidation- before-by-elections/ 14 Zimbabwe Peace Project Report April 2015: http://www.bulawayo24.com/index-id-News- sc-national-byo-67866.html#sthash.rwVvWrEZ.dpuf 15 Ignatius Chombo Exposed Vote Rigging Before Hurungwe West Bi Elections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVRMFF-qCKo

17 | P a g e traditional leaders to canvass or serve as an election agent or manager for any candidate, or nominate any candidate, for election as state President, Members of Parliament or councillor in any local authority. In addition the traditional leaders were not supposed to be influenced by political affiliation in the discharge of their duties. ZESN encourages political leaders and their supporters to exercise restraint and greater tolerance of divergent political views and reminds political actors that the Electoral Act requires them to take all appropriate measures to prevent politically motivated violence and any electoral malpractices before, during and after the election period.

The media reported on the abuse of state resources including the use of government vehicles, government facilities, public media and civil servants for campaign activities. It seems that separation between the state and political party resources is still blurred. For instance ZESN observers noted that Government Ministers were seen attending campaign rallies in Army Helicopters, it is likely that the taxpayers paid for the expenses incurred when the helicopters were used for party business. This makes campaigning very difficult for parties outside government.

Some political parties engaged in what is defined by the Electoral Act as corrupt practices. Section 136 of the Electoral Act provides details of electoral offences that fall under bribery. Specifically the ZANU PF candidate for Makokoba Constituency’s support for Highlanders football club purchase of a club bus could fall in this category of electoral offenses. The official invitation for the handover ceremony for the bus clearly shows that the donation was meant to solicit votes for the upcoming by-elections. Kindly refer to the picture below.

Figure 1: Invitation to the Handover Ceremony of the Highlanders football club bus.

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Overall the most visible campaigns were those of the ruling ZANU-PF whose candidates held several rallies in all the 16 constituencies where they were they were contesting. The campaigns for the independent candidates and candidates of the smaller political parties were mostly limited to distribution campaign posters and flyers.

Political parties observed the period of campaign silence in accordance with Section 160A of the Electoral Act which imposes a campaign silence period lasting 24 hours from midnight of the day when polls commence. No reports were received of political parties or candidates engaging in any campaign activities within that period. ZESN notes that the campaign silence period is meant to allow voters to exercise their franchise freely and without pressure. However the spirit of this provision of the electoral act was violated by the practice of recording of names of voters before and after they had cast their vote which was observed in some of the constituencies on voting day. This practice serves to intimidate voters and had a potential effect of influencing voting patterns as it gives the impression to the voter that those recording the names had an ability to track the voting preference of each voter.

8. MEDIA AND ELECTIONS

Media freedom is fundamental in promoting the political and civil and political rights and liberties enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The media plays a complex role in electoral process, providing information to voters and a platform to political parties and candidates while serving a watchdog function.

SADC Electoral guidelines, under section 2.1.5 requires members states to ensure “Equal opportunity for all political parties to access the state media” while Section 160J of the Electoral Act requires all media outlets both print and electronic should ensure that “all political parties and candidates are treated equitably in their news media, in regard to the extent, timing and prominence of the coverage accorded to them…” however ZESN notes with concern that election coverage political parties campaign activities was largely skewed towards ZANU PF. According to the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe ZANU PF politicians dominated the news 68% or the time while the remaining percentage was shared by other political parties and candidates. Women voices were under-represented in election news. Of the 240 news sources that MMPZ reviewed women were only covered 20% of the time. MMPZ further observed that electoral issues were side-lined by election personalities an observation which resonates with the prevailing political culture where political party campaigns largely focus on personalities as opposed to issues.

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Distribution of Candidates voices by Political Party

Figure 2: Election coverage for the 10 June 2015 By-elections by the media

It appears that institutions that are supposed to contribute to creating fair and balanced election coverage are ineffective. Section 160K(1) of the Electoral Act requires ZEC to monitor the Zimbabwean news media during any election period to ensure that political parties, candidates, broadcasters, print publishers and journalists observe the provisions that regulate election coverage. ZEC is required to execute this mandate with assistance of the Zimbabwe Media Commission and the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe. ZEC is also required to include in the Commission’s post-election report a section on the coverage of election by the news media.

Although the public-owned media has specific legal obligations during elections, it is also important to note that the private media is also obliged by national, regional and international best practices of professional journalism to report in a responsible, fair, accurate and balanced manner, especially during elections. The Code of Conduct for Zimbabwean Media Practitioners produced by the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe for example specifically states in Section 11 that: "(a) Media practitioners and media institutions must ensure that media coverage of elections is comprehensive, fair and balanced and make certain that all candidates, parties and election issues are given equitable and gender sensitive coverage"16

16 The media’s coverage of the June 10 2015 by-elections: A report by the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)

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9. GENDER EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

9.1. Gender Equality and Special Needs Groups Active participation of women, youth, civil society organisations and marginalised groups in the electoral process constitutes a critical element for the deepening of democracy and .

The Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) concurs with the need to promote equality between women and men. Among other things, the GoZ signed and ratified the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development and the African Union Women’s Rights Protocol which commits the country to 50% representation of women in all decision making bodies at all levels.

The constitution of Zimbabwe, in articles 17 and 18, the state has a duty to ensure full gender balance in Zimbabwean society, the full participation of women in all spheres of society and in all institutions and agencies of government including Commissions and other elective and appointed governmental bodies established by or under the Constitution or any Act of Parliament. Furthermore, Section 120 enunciates the 50/50 system for gender representation in the Senate. Section 124 allows proportional representation of six women in each of the ten provinces on the basis of votes garnered by each party.

The other 210 seats are by secret ballot and are not guided by any rules relating to gender. Political parties continue to exhibit lack of political will and interest in emulating the 50/50 threshold set for the filling of Senate seats. ZESN notes, with regret, the gender disparity that continues to prevail in the nomination of candidates. ZESN also notes the absence of individuals from special needs groups as candidates in the by-elections. The graph below depicts women who participated in the elections:

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Gender breakdown of candidates that contested the by-elections

4%

Women

Men 96%

Figure3: Gender breakdown of candidates that contested the by-elections

Political parties continue to field mostly male candidates in by-elections, consequently only 4% of the candidates that contested the June 10 By-elections were female. ZESN urges political parties to support the participation of more women candidates during the primary elections. Enhancing women’s participation in elections is essential to building lasting peace and elections can provide the best possible opportunity to ensure women’s voices are heard, their concerns addressed, and their potential contributions to peace and democracy maximized.

10. ELECTION PETITIONS

Electoral petitions are part of the electoral justice landscape in Zimbabwe. In a broad sense Electoral Justice means ensuring that every action, procedure and decision related to the electoral process is in line with the law (the constitution, statute law, international instruments or treaties and all other provisions in force in a country), and that the enjoyment of electoral rights is protected and restored, giving people, who believe their electoral rights have been violated, the ability to make a complaint, get a hearing and receive an adjudication.17

An effective electoral justice system is a key element in the unfolding of a free, fair and genuine democratic process. Without a system to mitigate and manage inequality or

17 Electoral Justice: The International IDEA Handbook (International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance)

22 | P a g e perceptions of inequality, even the best management of an electoral process may lead to mistrust in the legitimacy of the elected government.18

In Zimbabwe there are a number of institutions that play significant roles in facilitating the effectiveness of our electoral justice system. The institutions include, but are not limited to, ZEC, The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC), Electoral Courts and The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP). The roles played by these institutions during the pre-electoral period are is discussed below:

Multi Party Liaison Committees (MPLC): were set up in the various constituencies where by-elections were scheduled. The MPLCs were comprised of Members of the ZEC, contesting political parties and candidates, and members of the police force. The Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13, 160A-160D) provides for the setting up of structures to manage conflict between political parties contesting any election through the establishment and functioning of MPLCs which are tasked with dealing with enforcement of the Code of conduct for political parties laid out in the Fourth Schedule of the Electoral Act. The Code clearly instructs all political parties and their members and supporters, and all candidates and their supporters, to promote conditions conducive to free, fair and democratic elections conducted through a secret ballot in a climate of democratic tolerance in which political activity may take place without fear of intimidation or reprisals.

MPLC functions include attempts to resolve any disputes, concerns, matters or grievances relating to the electoral process, including in particular any disputes arising from allegations concerning non-compliance with the Code of conduct for political parties.

During the pre-election period the MPLCs that were set up were not effective partly because of the lack of political will to support the MPLC which resulted in reports to the effect that the ruling party’s candidates did not attend meetings of these committees. Some electoral malpractices which could have been addressed at the level of the MPLC continued unchecked as a result. These include the destruction and defacing of campaign materials such as posters and the use of threats and intimidation against supporters of parties and candidates that contested the by-election.

Electoral Court: The electoral court were established in terms of Electoral Act Chapter 2:13, 161 (as amended), and have exclusive jurisdiction to hear appeals, applications and petitions in terms of this Act; and to review any decision of ZEC or any other person made or purporting to have been made under this Act. The Court’s mandate covers a wide range of potential cases, from voter registration disputes to election petitions by unsuccessful candidates.

Electoral courts are currently operational. The Judicial Service Commission in February 2015 announced the appointment of four High Court judges (Justices Chinembiri Bhunu, Tendai Uchena, Andrew Mutema and Martin Makonese) as judges of the Electoral Court. The appointments are for the six-month period 16th February until 15th August 2015.

18 http://www.idea.int/publications/electoral_justice/

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A number of high profile cases were brought before the Electoral Court in the period preceding the by-elections. Two examples of such cases include that of Temba Mliswa the Independent Candidate who contested the by-election in Hurungwe West, who sought to have the Hurungwe West By-election, postponed citing his inability to campaign in the Constituency and widespread intimidation of his supporters. Temba Mliswa’s petition to the Electoral Court was unsuccessful. After the announcement of the by-elections results Mr. Mliswa submitted another petition to the electoral court seeking the disqualification of the other candidate who contested the by-election. The Courts were yet to make a determination of this petition at the time of writing this report.

Another petition that was brought to the electoral courts was that of Harare East, ZANU PF Candidate who successfully challenged his party’s attempts to withdraw his candidature at the nomination court and replacing it with a rival within the party who had received fewer votes during the party’s primary elections. The Court decided that both candidates were duly nominated and could represent their party in the Harare East By-election. This development illustrates the deficiencies in intra-party democracy.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police: is charged with the responsibility of investigating cases of politically-motivated violence and intimidation arising from the election. Section 133J of the Electoral Act provides for the setting up of special police units to investigate as expeditiously as possible all cases of politically-motivated violence and intimidation that are referred to them by ZEC, MPLC, the Commission or the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission or are otherwise brought to their attention.

During the reporting period Temba Mliswa, one of the candidates contesting the Hurungwe West by-election made numerous allegations that included the coercion of traditional leaders to support ZANU PF, assault on farm worker supporters and intimidation. Mr. Mliswa further alleges that the Police did not investigate any of the complaints that were formally reported to them by him and his supporters.

Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission: ZESN understands that the ZHRC dispatched a team of investigators to Hurungwe West to investigate allegations of widespread intimidation and politically motivated violence that was allegedly committed by ZANU PF supporters. The Commission needs to make public its findings and handover the same to the Police if any of the allegations were proven true.

ZEC has a duty to collaborate closely with the other Commissions that support democratic elections to ensure that the playing field for elections is level.

11. ELECTION DAY OBSERVATIONS Following the invitation of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), ZESN deployed observers to observe the June 10, 2015 National Assembly by-elections. ZESN deployed 158 observers for the by-elections comprising static observers based at some of the Ward and Constituency Collation Centres. In addition 42 mobile observers were deployed.

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Opening and Setup: 99% of the polling stations where ZESN observed successfully completed opening and setup procedures on time. Observers reported that all polling stations had all the required voting materials such as ballot boxes, ballot papers, ZEC official stamp, indelible ink and the voters roll at the time of opening. All polling stations covered by ZESN observers had adequate polling personnel.

Voting: ZESN observer reports show that voting in the 16 constituencies preceded smoothly at all the polling stations.

Counting: At all polling stations, counting took place according to procedures and results were displayed outside the polling stations. At all the ward and constituency collation Centres where ZESN observed, all party agents agreed that the process had gone well and signed the V11 form.

Turnout: ZESN observed that there was greater voter apathy in the urban constituencies as compared to the rural constituencies. The low turnout could be attributed to the fact that the by-elections were held in former MDC-T strongholds and that the MDC-T and its formations boycotted the by-elections citing a need for electoral reforms. The by-elections were therefore poorly contested and generated less interest from urban voters. Rural constituencies that include Tsholotsho North, Headlands and Hurungwe West received the highest voter turnout.

June 10, 2015 By-elections % Voter Turnout 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 % Voter Turnout 5 0

Figure 4: Percentage Voter Turn-out for June 10 By-elections

Voter Intimidation: Although the polling day was relatively peaceful, the pre-election period was marred by incidents of violence, intimidation and vote buying. On Election Day, ZESN observed intimidation of voters at various polling stations. Reports from observers indicated that in a number of constituencies, suspected ZANU PF officials and village heads were recording the details of voters before they arrived at a polling station and after the voter

25 | P a g e had cast their vote. These reports came from observers in the following areas: Tsholotsho (Zabagwadi Business Centre), Headlands (Nehumba Primary School) and Hurungwe West (Murapa Primary School). The practice violates section 133B (c)(1) of the Electoral Act which outlaws any attempts to compel voters to vote for a particular candidate or party.

Voter Education: The inadequacy of voter education was evident in the significant number of turned away voters. For instance the inadequacy of the voter education was evident in the reasons why most voters were turned away, in all the 16 constituencies. These included voters turning up at the wrong ward, and not bringing the required identity documents. Our observers also noted significant numbers of assisted voters especially in rural constituencies. ZESN observer reports therefore reinforce the calls made previously for continuous and comprehensive voter education especially in rural areas to address issues of intimidation and fear.

Political Party Agents: Every political party was allowed to have one agent inside the polling station and to have an additional agent stationed within the vicinity of the polling station. This is consistent with provisions of the Electoral Act. It is however regrettable that some political parties and independent candidates failed to deploy agents at all polling stations. For instance in Tsholotsho only ZANU PF party agents were present in all the polling stations where ZESN observed. This development is unfortunate because election observation remains an important tool that allows for systematic assessment of the conduct of an election process on the basis of national legislation, regional and international best practices.

Police presence: In 90% of the polling stations where ZESN observed police were present inside the polling station. ZESN notes that the heavy police presence inside and outside the polling stations may intimidate voters. Furthermore observers witnessed Police personnel being actively involved in assisting voters. This practice goes against international best norms and standards where the role of the police is limited to maintaining law and order and not interfering with the voting processes.

12. RECOMMENDATIONS

i. The Executive should demonstrate political will to fully align the electoral law to the Constitution by supporting a comprehensive review of the electoral law. This will address aspects like voter education constraints, voter registration, electoral court shortcomings and the right to vote for all Zimbabweans. There is need for holistic, comprehensive, electoral legislation rather than piecemeal reforms. ii. ZEC capacity and independence - Government need to avail adequate resources for electoral processes so as to enable ZEC to prepare and carry its mandate effectively. There is also need to professionalise and capacitate the ZEC Secretariat. There is need for ZEC to report to Parliament. The Electoral law should empower ZEC to

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make additional regulations that enhance election transparency and fairness without needing the approval of the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. iii. The Police and Human Rights Commission should be impartial in the investigation of allegations and official reports of electoral offences so as to ensure adherence to the code of conduct for political parties to mitigate the occurrence of such incidences in the future. iv. ZEC and Political parties should support the work and existence of MPLCs throughout the electoral cycle as the platform could provide effective alternative dispute resolution to electoral conflicts. v. There is need for effective stakeholder engagement on the voter registration methodology and resourcing of the process that ZEC will use for 2018 elections. There is also need for independent and ZEC sponsored audits of the voter’s roll so as to determine the extent to which the current voters roll adhere to established principles. vi. ZEC should invest in comprehensive and innovative voter education initiatives that address issues of fear and intimidation of the electorate. vii. There is need for a review of the Political Parties Finance Act to allow for transparency and accountability, and to support the development of effective systems of regulation of party and campaign finances. This system should include disclosure, limits on expenditure and monitoring of party and campaign finances. viii. There is need to revisit the issue of boundary delimitation as demographics have changed significantly since 2007 when the last delimitation exercise was conducted.

The recommendations above can only be fulfilled when there is adequate political will and commitment by the political actors in Government.

13. CONCLUSION Although polling day was relatively peaceful, and polling went on smoothly, the pre- electoral period was marred by incidents of violence, intimidation, and vote buying. The elections were held in an uneven playing field where some of the candidates and their supporters were not able to freely express themselves through campaigns. The media coverage of the elections was skewed in favour of the dominant political party, ZANU PF. Election preparations were negatively affected by late disbursement of funding for the by- elections. The funding was also inadequate. All these challenges compromised the credibility of the by-elections.

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ANNEX 1: BY-ELECTION RESULTS Source: Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) http://www.zec.gov.zw/election-notice-board/election-results/10-june-2015-by-election-results

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ANNEX 2: DISTRIBUTION OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SEATS

As at 19 June 2015 the distribution of National Assembly seats is illustrated in the chart and table below.

Distribution of National Assembly Seats

National MDC Assembly 1% Vacancies 2%

MDC-T ZANU PF 21% 76%

Distribution of National Assembly Seats

Name of Party Number of seats

1 ZANU PF 207 2 MDC-T 56 3 MDC 2 4 National Assembly Vacancies 5

Total 270

One of the six vacancies in the National Assembly has been included in the seats that ZANU PF currently holds because that seat is one of the 60 seats in the National Assembly that are reserved for women . That seat therefore remains a ZANU PF seat since it will be filled by a persons of the same gender and belonging to the same party as the person who previously held the seats in accordance with [section 157(1)(d) of the constitution.

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ANNEX 3: DISTRIBUTION OF SENATE SEATS

As at 19 June 2015 the distribution of Senate seats is illustrated in the chart and table below.

Distribution of Senate Seats

Disabled Representative Chiefs 3% ZANU PF 23% 46%

MDC 2%

MDC-T 26%

Distribution of Senate Seats

Name of Party Number of Seats 1 ZANU PF 37 2 MDC-T 21 3 MDC 2 4 Chiefs 18 5 Disabled Representative 2

Total 80

There are currently two vacancies in the Senate however in the illustration above; the two vacancies are included in the tally of ZANU PF seats because the seats were previously held by ZANU PF senators. According to the section 157(1)(d) of the Constitution any vacancies that occur in the Parliamentary seats elected by proportional representation, in this instance the Senate, must be filled by persons of the same gender and belonging to the same party as the persons who previously held the seats.

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ANNEX 4: DISTRIBUTION OF SENATE SEATS

Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) June 2015 By-elections Results Analysis of Top Two 2015 and 2013 Contestants

2015 House of Assembly By-elections 2013 House of Assembly

Party Candidate Result Candidate Result

Harare Metropolitan [6 seats] Harare Metropolitan [6 seats] 1. Dzivarasekwa, Omega Hungwe -ZANU PF 3116 Madzore Solomon - MDC-T 6591 Saul Tore - Independent 253 Kowo Never - ZANU-PF 5402 2. Glen View South, Pius Madzinga - ZANU PF 1396 Madzore Paul - MDC-T 8301 Michael Chivandire - TZ 580 Hurungudo Stephen - ZANU -PF 2583 3. Harare East, Terrence Mukupe- ZANU PF 4605 Biti Tendai - MDC-T 9538 Dore Dale - TZ 681 Mangondo Noah - ZANU-PF 8190 4. Highfield West, Maziwisa Pshycology- ZANU PF 2254 Manyengawana Moses - MDC-T 6825 Dzumbunu Emmanuel- 230 2639 Independent Juta Emmanuel - ZANU-PF 5. Kambuzuma, Tinashe Maduza- ZANU PF 2712 Madzimure Willias - MDC-T 7944 Tendai Makoni- Independent 153 Nheta Tongai -ZANU-PF 4165 6. Kuwadzana Betty Nhambu- ZANU PF 3480 Matibenga Lucia - MDC-T 2248 Endai Mugomeza- Independent 222 Nhambu Betty -ZANU-PF 1990 Bulawayo Metropolitan [5 seats] Bulawayo Metropolitan [5 seats]

7. Lobengula Maidei Mpala- ZANU PF 1976 Nkomo Samuel Sipepa - MDC-T 5580 Casper Sibanda- ZAPU 492 Dube Christopher - ZANU PF 1848 8. Luveve Thandiyekose Mlilo- ZANU PF 1765 Moyo Reggie- MDC-T 6985 Nyamambi Dube- ZAPU 562 Mhlanga Nicholas - ZANU PF 2874 9. Makokoba Tshinga Dube- ZANU PF 3182 Moyo Gorden – MDC-T 7099 Sibangilizwe Msipa - 473 Tshinga Dube- ZANU PF 3529 Independent 10. Mpopoma/Pelandaba Joseph Chuma - ZANU PF 2015 Nyathi Bekithemba-MDC-T 6024 Stride Mkandla -Independent 726 Joseph Chuma- ZANU PF 2122 11. Pumula Godfrey Malaba - ZANU PF 2477 Albert Mhlanga-MDC-T 6100 Bathandi Mpofu - ZAPU 777 Godfrey Malaba-ZANU PF 2877

Mashonaland West [ 1 seat] 12. Hurungwe West Keith Guzah - ZANU PF 5961 Temba Mliswa- ZANU PF 8410 Temba Mliswa - Independent 4239 Makanya Wilson- MDC-T 2606

Manicaland [2 seats] Manicaland [2 seats] 13. Chikanga- Esau Mupfumi- ZANU PF 6376 Anold Tsunga-MDC-T 11757 Dangamvura Chengetai Kadzere- Independent 1092 Reketai Duru-ZANU PF 9336 14. Headlands Christopher Chingosho- ZANU PF 11104 Didymus Mutasa-ZANU PF 10975 Albert Mukaratirwa- 897 Tekeshe David-MDC-T 4500 independent

Midlands [1 seat] Midlands [1 seat]

15. Mbizo Vongaishe Mpereri - ZANU PF 4269 Settlement Chikwinya-MDC -–T 6917

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Onismo Zvavairo- Ind 2489 Murada Moses-ZANU PF 5206

Matabeleland North [1 seat] Matabeleland North [1 seat] 16. Tsholotsho North - ZANU PF 11695 Roselyn Nkomo- MDC-T 4874

Busani Ncube- Independent 91 Jonathan Moyo-ZANU PF 4646 Comments:

1. In 2013 MDC-T won 14 seats of the 16 House of Assembly Seats that were affected by this by-election, while ZANU PF had 2 seats, namely Headlands and Hurungwe West. 2. ZANU PF won all the 16 By-elections that were held on June 10, 2015, in 6 provinces. The total number of seats that ZANU PF now holds in the National Assembly is 207. While the MDC-T currently holds 56 seats and the MDC holds two seats. The total number vacancies in the National Assembly currently stand at 5. 3. An analysis of the voting patterns show a significant reduction in the total number of votes cast for the top 2 candidates in the just ended by elections when compared to the 2013 House of Assembly elections for the same constituencies. . The percentage reduction ranges from 56% which the highest reduction to 9.3 % which is the lowest reduction. The highest reduction was recorded in Midlands province where Mbizo (56%) and Hurungwe West in Mashonaland West (9.3%). . Pumula has 36% reduction in the total number of votes cast for the 2 top candidates. In 2013 the top 2 candidates received combined votes amounting to 8977 while in 2015 that number dropped to 3254. . The same trend is evident in Mpopoma/Pelandaba where the top 2 candidates received a total of 2741 in 2015 and in 2013 they received 8146 marking a 34% reduction. . In Luveve the percentage reduction in the number of votes cast for the top 2 candidates was 24%. The same trend can be seen in other constituencies. . In Harare’s Highfield West there is a 26% reduction of the number of votes cast for the 2 highest candidates. In Hurungwe West there is a 9.3% reduction in total votes cast for the 2 top candidates. 4. Tsholotsho North however provides an exception to this trend. There is an 81% increase in the total number of votes received by the first 2 candidates in 2015. A further analysis of Tsholotsho North indicates that the number of votes for the ZANU PF candidate in 2015 increased by 40%.

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