Zimbabwe Election: 20:00 CCC update

As evening falls, voters continue to queue up in droves to cast their ballots - some have been waiting hours to exercise their democratic right.

By now, every single one of the 12,374 polling stations across the country should have closed their doors to voters and started the count.

However, a huge number of polling stations, mostly in the urban centres of Harare and Bulawayo, did not open until many hours after the official 07:00 start. Outrageously, some polling stations in Harare still had their doors resolutely shut to voters at 18:00, 11 hours after voting was meant to commence.

ZEC'S WOEFUL EXCUSES

The ZEC has blamed this on the court wrangling of the proceeding weeks that has formed the backdrop to this election, which they claim severely delayed the printing of ballot papers. This is simply untrue. The failure to provide polling stations in the capital with ballot papers was a gross negligence on their part. Nelson Chamisa addressed this blatant voter suppression in his press conference this afternoon.

One particularly egregious example is the Girls High School polling station in Harare, which opened for voting well after 7am due to a delay in delivering ballot papers. The school is a four minute drive away from ZEC's headquarters.

ZEC's solution - to keep polling stations open late into the night and early hours of the morning - is worrying. Extreme vigilance is required throughout the night to mitigate the risk to both voters and democracy.

Our faithful and committed agents are deployed country-wide and will continue to observe the polling stations and voting process with all the dedication it requires.

WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Data analysis of election incidents at sample polling stations as of 14:00 has been published by research and advocacy organisation Good Governance Africa. It shows the most frequent incident observed by agents was violence and/or intimidation, followed by issues with polling stations and ballot boxes/papers.

This aligns with the anecdotal evidence reported by agents, observers and voters all over the country.

Reports have flooded in of intimidation by FAZ activists and ZANU-PF members who have been conducting unofficial exit polls outside polling stations, while voters country-wide are outraged by polling stations remaining closed for shockingly long period of time.

DEDICATION TO DEMOCRACY

In light of the on-going mismanagement of polling stations by the ZEC citizens remain determined to wait in line in order to cast their vote.

Despite some polling stations having not received their ballot papers, Zimbabweans have bravely remained in queues since well before 07:00 to exercise their democratic right to vote.

At Westlea Primary polling station in Harare, voters have vowed to remain in line until the ballot papers arrive. Meanwhile, at Epworth South Constituency Ward 4, voters continue to wait, showing their faith in the democratic process despite being thrown numerous obstacles.

Today has shown the extraordinary perseverance of opposition voters. The spirit of the people is undoubtedly strong, despite the best efforts of a desperate and panicking ZANU-PF.

EYES IN THE SKY

Institute for Security Studies (ISS) head Piers Pigou has tweeted a picture apparently showing SADC observers at the departures lounge of Robert Mugabe Airport before polls had even officially closed in Zimbabwe.

Given the importance of today's elections and the widespread reports of irregularities, this reduced vigilance is very concerning. The CCC urges all observer missions to carry out their inspections throughout the voting and counting process and to call out and condemn any irregularities.

Charles Kwaramba
Presidential Chief Elections Agent