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Elections Election Republic of Zimbabwe 2018 Presidential, Parliamentary, and Local Council (Harmonized) Elections Election Expert Mission Final Report The Carter Center July 2020 2018 Presidential, Parliamentary, and Local Council Elections in Zimbabwe Table of Contents Map of the Republic of Zimbabwe ............................................................................................................... 4 Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 5 The Carter Center in Zimbabwe.................................................................................................................. 10 Historical and Political Background ........................................................................................................... 11 Table 1. Zimbabwe Facts and Figures .................................................................................................... 12 Legal Framework ........................................................................................................................................ 13 Domestic Laws............................................................................................................................................ 14 The Constitution...................................................................................................................................... 14 The Electoral Act .................................................................................................................................... 15 Electoral System ......................................................................................................................................... 18 Boundary Delimitation ................................................................................................................................ 19 Election Administration ............................................................................................................................... 20 Voter Education .......................................................................................................................................... 25 Voter Registration ....................................................................................................................................... 25 Candidates, Parties and Campaigns ............................................................................................................ 28 The Campaign Environment ....................................................................................................................... 29 Campaign-Related Violence ....................................................................................................................... 30 The Role of Social Media and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) ................................. 33 Civil Society Engagement ........................................................................................................................... 34 Election Day................................................................................................................................................ 37 Tallying, Transmission of Results .............................................................................................................. 38 Announcement of Results ........................................................................................................................... 38 Election Results .......................................................................................................................................... 39 Post-Election Political Environment ........................................................................................................... 40 Electoral Dispute Resolution ...................................................................................................................... 42 Postelection Petition and Constitutional Court Decision ........................................................................ 44 Recommendations ....................................................................................................................................... 46 Voter Registration ....................................................................................................................................... 46 Campaign Environment .............................................................................................................................. 46 Campaign-Related Violence and Intimidation ............................................................................................ 46 Civil Society Engagement ........................................................................................................................... 47 Voter Education .......................................................................................................................................... 47 Announcement Of Results .......................................................................................................................... 47 2 | Page 2018 Presidential, Parliamentary, and Local Council Elections in Zimbabwe Election Administration .............................................................................................................................. 47 Women’s Participation In Elections ........................................................................................................... 48 Electoral Dispute Resolution ...................................................................................................................... 48 Complaints and Appeals (On Election Day): .............................................................................................. 48 Postelection Political Environment: ............................................................................................................ 49 Annexes ...................................................................................................................................................... 49 3 | Page 2018 Presidential, Parliamentary, and Local Council Elections in Zimbabwe Map of the Republic of Zimbabwe 4 | Page 2018 Presidential, Parliamentary, and Local Council Elections in Zimbabwe Executive Summary Mission Background The Carter Center deployed a mission to Zimbabwe from March 24-28, 2018, to assess the pre- election environment and preparations for the July 30, 2018, presidential, parliamentary, and local council elections (collectively called the harmonized elections). The mission met with key political and electoral stakeholders as well as civil society organizations and international technical assistance providers. The Center subsequently received an invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to observe the harmonized elections. Because of a lack of funds, the Center deployed only a small expert mission. The team arrived on July 10 and conducted assessment activities for seven weeks. The Carter Center’s election expert team was based in Harare and consisted of a field office director, senior political analyst, legal and election analyst, civil society and technology analyst, and an IT analyst and data-verification specialist. The Center’s mission was limited in scope and did not conduct a comprehensive assessment of the electoral process. The mission focused on several key issues, including the legal and electoral framework, election administration, use of technology in the elections, political and electoral environment, campaign period, women’s participation, civil society engagement, and electoral dispute resolution in the postelection period. The team did not observe election-day proceedings in a systematic manner and visited only a limited number of polling stations and tally centers in and around Harare. The team closely monitored postelection developments, including the dispute- resolution process and the legal challenge of the presidential election results. Throughout its deployment, the team met with various stakeholders, including election administration authorities, political parties, candidates, citizen observers, human rights organizations, media organizations, government officials, and other international observers and stakeholders. In addition to analyzing key parts of the election process, Carter Center experts provided limited technical assistance to the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), a leading civil society organization, to support its data-collection efforts for long-term observers using the Center’s ELMO open-source data collection tool. The Center also collaborated with the nonprofit organization Meedan.org to work with targeted civil society organizations, including ZimFACT in Harare and the Center for Innovation and Technology (CITE) in Bulawayo, to use a collaborative fact-checking tool, CHECK, developed by Meedan. Following the Aug. 1 clashes between armed security forces and protestors in Harare that resulted in six deaths and multiple casualties, The Carter Center immediately issued a postelection statement urging responsible leadership, peaceful demonstration, and the transparent and timely finalization of results.1 The Center also joined eight other international election observation 1 See Annex 1 for the statement. Copies of the Center’s statement were shared with the media, the ZEC, Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU PF), the Movement
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