Zimbabwe Electoral System

Electoral system

National Assembly

210 members elected by secret ballot from single-member constituencies and, for the first two Parliaments, 60 women elected by proportional representation.

Senate

Senate's 80 members: six elected from each of the 10 provinces, by proportional representation; 18 chiefs; two members elected to represent people with disabilities.

Presidential

Directly elected by a universal adult franchise, absolute majority required.

Electoral management bodies (EMBs)

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) demarks boundaries of the constituencies, prepares for and conducts elections and referendums; ensures that they are conducted efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law; directs and controls voter registration; compiles voters rolls; conducts voter education.

Chairperson of the ZEC is appointed by the President in consultation with the Judicial Services Commission and Committee on Standing Rules and Orders and 6 commissioners (at least three of women) appointed by President from nine nominees of Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.

Political parties

Zimbabwe has no law requiring registration by political parties.

Funding and regualtion

Public funding for political parties with a minimum of 5% of votes cast in the last election in proportion to the number of votes they recieved; foreign funding and donations are prohibited by the Political Parties (Finance) Act.

Code of Conduct

legally enforceable by multiparty liaison committees.

Mass Media

Every party has the right to reasonable access to the media and public broadcasters must give all political parties and independent candidates free access to their services as prescribed in regulations made by the ZEC; ZEC must monitor the media, with the assistance of Zimbabwe Media Commission, and ensure compliance with the law.

Election management

Concurrent Presidential, House of Assembly, Senate and local elections are held after every 5 years; President proclaims election dates after consultation with ZEC.

Polling Stations

Polling station are open continuously from 7:00 hrs-19:00 hrs; voters in the queue at closing permitted to vote.

Delimitation of constituencies

The ZEC is tasked with delimiting constituencies and wards every ten years, taking into consideration public representations; constituencies should each have an equal number of voters, with due regard to physical features, communication, geographical distribution of registered voters, community of interest and existing electoral boundaries.

Voter registration and voters' rolls

Registration is with constituency registrar who is subject to the control of ZEC. Applicants are issued with registration certificates Voters rolls are open to public inspection at constituency registrar during office hours and copies must be supplied to the public on payment of a prescribed fee.

ZEC is tasked by law with conducting voter education that is adequate, accurate and unbiased, and that voter education undertaken by others (excluding political.Civic and voter education ZEC is tasked by law with conducting voter education that is adequate, accurate and unbiased, and that voter education was undertaken by others (excluding political parties) is adequate, not misleading or biased; they must be Zimbabwean citizens or registered NGOs, they must adhere to programmes and instructions of the ZEC and charge no fees; all material, trainer details, and funding must be disclosed to the ZEC; all foreign funding must be channelled through the ZEC.

Candidate nomination

Parliamentary Elections: candidates are nominated by means of a nomination paper signed by 10 registered voters, contact details and accompanied by a photograph; if endorsed by a party the paper must be signed by an office bearer; a prescribed fee is required as well as proof of registration as a voter in that constituency. Presidential Elections: Nominated by means of a nomination paper signed by 10 registered voters from each province, contact details and accompanied by a photograph; if endorsed by a party the paper must be signed by an office bearer; a prescribed fee is required.

Election observation

Individuals accredited by ZEC may observe elections subject to the code of conduct. Individuals representing foreign countries, international, regional and local organizations and bodies similar to ZEC that are invited by Government Ministers may observe elections and are accredited by an accreditation committee of the ZEC which issues them with the code of conduct.

Election campaign

Political activity of parties and candidates subject to the code of conduct laid down in law, but with no penalties attached to violations[23] No campaigning is permitted from midnight twenty-four hours before polling day.

Conflict management

prevention and management Multiparty liaison committees are set up by ZEC at national, provincial and constituency level to attempt to resolve electoral disputes; election petitions are heard by Electoral Court.

Secrecy of the ballot

It is prohibited for anyone to interfere with a voter when marking a ballot paper or to discover how a voter has voted or to tell another how a voter has voted. Voters requiring assistance in marking their ballots may choose another voter to assist them.

Vote Counting

After the close of the poll, counting takes place at polling stations by presiding officer in presence of polling officers, monitors and observers and the candidates and their election agents as are present; the results are shown to all present and displayed outside the polling station.

Announcement of results

In the presence of monitors and observers and the candidates and their election agents the constituency elections officer verifies the returns and adds up the votes and declares the result; the outcome is transmitted to Chief Elections Officer, who publishes it in the Gazette.

References