ZEC holds 2023 disputed elections postmortem indaba in Nyanga

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The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is hosting the National Multi-Stakeholder Post-Election Review Conference for the 2023 Harmonised Elections, in Nyanga.

The conference will discuss, among other issues, electoral dispute resolution, voter registration, election media coverage, and voter education.

In 2023, the country held elections whose outcome was widely disputed.

ZEC, the electoral management body was accused of rigging the elections in favor of the ruling party, ZANU PF.

Various observer missions if not all of them declared the elections as having failed to meet minimum standards.

Led by Zambia’s former vice president, Dr. Nevers Mumba, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Observer Mission broke away from previous practice and issued a scathing Preliminary Statement noting that the polls fell short of minimum standards set forth in the SADC Principles and Guidelines for Democratic Elections.

In summary, the report noted: *Irregularities in the delimitation of constituencies.

*Delays in releasing the voters roll resulting in missed opportunities to conduct an audit.

*Restrictions in the freedom of assembly and expression emanating from draconian legislation like the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act (MOPA) and the Patriot Act, which criminalize anyone who criticizes “Zimbabwe’s sovereignty.”

*Restrictive nomination fees that limit participation, like the unprecedented $20,000 fee for presidential nominees.

*Evidence of lack of judicial independence.

*Evidence of the deployment of the Forever Associates Zimbabwe (believed to be a front for Zimbabwean state intelligence) throughout the country, thus compromising the vote.

*Problems of party/state conflation. Biased coverage by the state media.

*In the capital, Harare, as in other opposition strongholds, ballot papers arrived nearly 12 hours late.

*Given that one-third of Zimbabwe’s 6.6 million registered voters live in Harare, voter suppression there could well have decided the entire election.

*Voting was extended by 24 hours, however, many continued to wait to vote for hours. Others simply gave up amid the delays.

Zwnews