1. Executive summary

The Election Resource Centre (ERC), a think tank and advocacy institution on elections and democracy deployed a team of 12 accredited observers that tracked the electoral processes for Nkulumane parliamentary by-election held on the 19^th of December 2015. The ERC observed the Nkulumane by election for several reasons with the thrust being that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) was piloting the implementation of polling station based voting. The ERC project champions were trained to track the following aspects of the electoral process;

• environmental,
• administrative and
• legal framework

This helps the institution to provide evidence based analysis for effective civic and policy engagement initiatives on democracy and elections in line with its vision of seeing a Zimbabwe with transparent, credible and inclusive democratic and electoral processes at all tiers of society.

The piloting of the polling station based voting in Nkulumane constituency was an opportunity for the ERC to gather such evidence and knowledge for sharing, engagement and informing policy. This comes in the background of having previously raised concern over the polling station based voting on the basis of easier identification of voting trends and patterns as well as possible intimidation of the electorate after casting their votes. The ERC further expressed worry over the use of two voters’ rolls arguing that it could potentially disenfranchise voters and showed ill-preparation on the part of the Electoral Management Body (EMB) as has been the case in Marondera Central. Fundamentally, this report serves to offer highlights of the ERC’s observations on the Nkulumane by-election.

Introduction

The passing on of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkulumane constituency Honourable Thamsanqa Mahlangu in September 2015 triggered a by-election in the constituency which was held on 19 December 2015. The ensuing nomination process which saw three (3) candidates from Zimbabwe African National Union (Patriotic Front), Renewal Democracy of Zimbabwe (RDZ) and Progressive Democrats of Zimbabwe (PDZ) successfully filing their papers was held on 6 November 2015. Consistent to Section 129 Subsection 1(k) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the by-election date was set for Saturday the 19^th of December 2015.

In line with the Election Resource Centre (ERC) vision of a Zimbabwe with transparent, credible and inclusive democratic and electoral processes at all tiers of society the tracking ensured evidence based advocacy for improvements to electoral processes in the country. A local observer mission comprising of seven (7) youth champions and a technical team of five (5) that supported the young people to smoothly track and report on all the electoral processes was deployed in the Nkulumane constituency.

The ERC is aware that the country is preparing for yet another parliamentary by-election slated for the 5^th of March 2016 in Mhondoro-Mubaira. We therefore urge ZEC and all electoral stakeholders to be guided by the following submissions and to take corrective measures towards improvement of electoral processes in the country.

Key Observations

1. A peaceful and calm election was witnessed in Nkulumane.
2. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) conducted itself in a considerably professional manner.
3. Low voter turnout - there was an extremely low voter turnout which was below 16%, a sharp decline from the 2013 General Election turnout which was 28%.
4. Redirection of voters – the ERC observer mission witnessed an estimated 20% of the electorate being redirected to their correct polling stations following the recent introduction of the pilot polling station based voting which was launched during the Marondera Central by-election in September 2015.
5. Dominance of women in the election – there was an apparent dominance of women than male voters in the by-election.
6. High youth disinterest in the election.

Results - Source, ZEC

Methodology

For the Election Day, the ERC deployed mobile observers comprising of seven (7) youth champions and a technical support team. These were instructed to observe the environment, administrative and legislative framework for the Election Day. Prior to the election, the team also observed the voter education drive conducted by ZEC and campaign activities of the various political parties and candidates that eventually contested in the polls.

Due to the limited number of observers on the ground, the ERC also relied on information gathered and supplied by unaccredited citizen monitors situated in the constituency. Citizen monitors shared their observations and experiences around the election process through a crowd sourcing online platform dubbed the “E-observer” which allowed communities to share their observations of the electoral processes in their respective areas through text messages, WhatsApp message or e-mail.

The ERC further held discussions with ZEC officials to gain clarity around how the entire election process was being managed.

Detailed Election Day Observations

The ERC tracked the environment, administrative and legislative framework for the Election Day and therefore make the following submissions:

1. Electoral Environment

• The ERC noted that the poll was conducted in a largely calm and peaceful environment which allowed those that came out to freely participate in the process. Political parties, candidates and supporters also managed to adhere to the political parties’ Code of Conduct by conducting themselves in a professional manner.
• The ERC also noted a heavy police presence in the constituency.

2. Administrative Framework

• The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) exhibited high professionalism and a marked improvement in their conduct and cooperation with observers. As opposed to officials who were involved in the recent by elections, this particular ZEC team exhibited willingness to share information with observers as prescribed by the Electoral Act which mandates them to share information on electoral processes.
• The ERC also commends ZEC for opening up their internal training to public scrutiny. We applaud their improved levels of transparency which saw observers being given an opportunity to witness the training of ZEC officials who would be part of the Nkulumane by-election. The administration of the election also exhibited high levels of trained and knowledgeable election officials.
• Accreditation of observers was smooth and efficient. The polling station based voting process was conducted in a satisfactory manner. The ERC witnessed less queues and more efficiency compared to previous general and by-elections.
• The ERC however noted the inadequacy and ineffectiveness of the ZEC voter education model. ZEC continues to be stagnant on a voter education model which has largely proven ineffective as it excludes certain sections of the voting population especially the youth and people with disabilities. The youth are not attracted by the current voter education model which remains conventional and characterised mainly by a door to door approach and the distribution of flyers and posters as opposed to adopting the use of ICT where young people are largely dominant. This adds to an already unfortunate situation of a regulatory framework that limits participation of other stakeholders in providing voter education. Besides being cheaper, making use of the proliferation of technology has a potential of reaching out to a larger population of young people.
• We noted that in polling stations, voting materials were adequate and the ZEC was adequately staffed in terms of human resources. Polling stations opened and closed on time, all reports indicate that ZEC officials followed laid out procedures in administering the election.
• We are however concerned that ZEC continues to use voting materials which do not cater for people with disabilities especially the visually impaired. Close to 20% of polling stations were not friendly to people with disabilities.

3. Legal Framework

• The ZEC managed to comply with the current provisions of the Electoral Act and the Constitution of Zimbabwe in terms of administration and operations.
• The ERC also noted that ZEC operations remain hamstrung by the absence of an enabling regulatory framework on voter registration hence the registration remains as a pilot process.

Recommendations

1. Voter education must be opened up without restrictions to all interested stakeholders.
2. Observation of elections must be opened up to everyone – free of charge – this goes a long way in boosting public confidence and subsequent participation by the electorate and other stakeholders in all electoral processes.
3. The ZEC administration and regulatory framework must conform to the Constitution of the country, voter registration continues to be undertaken without an enabling framework for the same. Attempts to register that concern through the General Laws Amendment Bill remains hanging. Parliament must quickly expedite the re-alignment of Electoral Laws to the Constitution.
4. ZEC must provide voter education materials and polling stations that are friendly to people with disabilities including the introduction of braille and sign language.
5. The process of transitioning towards polling station based voting must be fully fledged and fully funded without having to wait for a by-election or remaining a “pilot project.”
6. Political parties have to be adequately trained on how to deliver effective voter education to prospective voters.
7. We call upon ZEC to consider introducing free accreditation of observers to ensure inclusivity of ordinary citizens in electoral processes affecting them as well as matching regional best practice. In countries such as Zambia and Malawi, accreditation of observers is wholly supported by the electoral commissions such that whoever wishes to witness electoral processes are free to do so. This will go a long way in building public confidence in electoral processes in Zimbabwe.

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Contact Details

Contact // Tawanda Chimhini (Director) / Kucaca Phulu (Chairperson)

Election Resource Centre

Email: information@erczim.org

Facebook: @Election Resource Centre Zimbabwe

Twitter/Skype: @erczimbabwe

Website: www.erczim.org

Phone: 0776347629 / 0773 856541

The Election Resource Centre is a think tank and advocacy institution on elections and democracy

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