Voters' Roll Anomalies Raise Suspicions Of Rigging In Zimbabwe's 2023 Election

Serious concerns have been raised regarding potential deliberate tampering with the voters’ roll in order to manipulate the outcome of the forthcoming Zimbabwean election. These anomalies have raised suspicions of a systematic effort to rig the electoral process.

Tendai and his wife, who reside in Kadoma, have been assigned to different polling stations despite living under the same roof. Such irregularities have led to suspicions in a nation where disputed votes have been a recurring issue under the rule of Zanu-PF since independence in 1980. Tendai, who supports the opposition and preferred to use a pseudonym because of safety concerns said:

I’ll go my way, she’ll go her way — it’s the new abnormal.

Civil society group Team Pachedu has conducted an analysis of the voters’ roll, which has uncovered several irregularities. One significant finding is the recycling of identification numbers, with thousands of IDs linked to individuals in the 2013 elections now associated with different names in 2023. Strange patterns, such as deceased individuals, duplicate registrations, and a high concentration of voters in a small area, have also been observed.

Many voters, like Tendai, have experienced changes in their assigned polling locations. Former education minister, David Coltart is among individuals whose names were moved to a polling station further away from where he lives. Coltart said:

[This] is hugely problematic, particularly in rural areas where people don’t have access to the internet and don’t have decent means of transport. There’s no doubt that Zanu-PF and Mnangagwa pulled out all the stops to do everything possible to prevent Chamisa and the ‘Triple  C’ from winning. But the question still remains whether it’s going to be sufficient.

This issue emerged in May when the voters’ roll was made available for inspection, revealing that names had been removed or misplaced. 

Activists are concerned that these anomalies could have a decisive impact on the election outcome. President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zanu-PF and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) are expected to face off in a rematch. The previous election in 2018 was marred by disputes, but Mnangagwa emerged as the winner.

International observers, including missions from the European Union, the Commonwealth, and the African Union, have been invited to monitor the election.

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