ZEC: We're Not Compelled By Law To Publish Polling Station Return Form (V.11)

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has said it is not compelled by the law to publish the polling station return form (V.11). This is happening when the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has raised concerns about the integrity of the 23 – 24 August 2023 polls, which declared President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the winner. The CCC has hinted at legal challenges and has called for SADC and AU intervention.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the commission said:

ZEC is not compelled by the law to publish V11 forms. The map below shows the real performance by the top two Presidential candidates during the just-ended elections

Yesterday, Freeman Chari requested that the ZEC share its polling station results and V11 forms for comparison with their own data entered on his application. Chari stated that they have reached a milestone of loading 11,872 V11s, and according to their calculations, Chamisa had surpassed the number provided by ZEC (1,967,343). He said there were still 502 pending in the designated pink wards (see picture below). Chari said:

MILESTONE ALERT: We have loaded 11 872 V11s. By our count Chamisa has crossed the number he was given by @ZECzim
(1967343). We still have 502 outstanding in those pink wards. We now ask ZEC to provide its polling station results & v11 and we compare with ours.

Even though the election was discredited & condemned by SADC, our goal is not to validate them but to hold @ZECzim
accountable. Let’s set Friday as the date ZEC will publish its polling station returns and V11s and we will also do the same.. then let people compare. Ndatenda!

According to ZEC, Mnangagwa secured 2,350,711 votes which translates to 52.6%, while Nelson Chamisa received 1,967,343  which translates to 44% of the total votes cast. This means Chamisa lost by 383,368 votes.

In response to ZEC’s statement that it is not obligated to release V11 forms, Pastor Evan Mawarire, known for the #ThisFlag campaign, urged the commission to publish the forms if they had nothing to hide. He emphasized that by withholding the V11s and presenting an ineffective map instead, ZEC undermines its credibility. Mawarire said:

If you have nothing to hide publish the V11’s. You stand to lose nothing and infact gain credibility as you have been accused by all the observers of failing the credibility test. It is your refusal to publish the v11’s, instead show a useless map that provides absolutely no useful data that exposes the fraud you are. The election is not a coloring exercise, it’s a counting exercise. It’s unbelievable that you actually want to be taken seriously.

ZEC states it fulfilled its duty by publishing V11s and providing copies to political parties’ agents and observers, as required by the Electoral Act. However, Team Pachedu alleges that some V11s were blank in Rushinga, Hurungwe, Dotito, etc. They also claim that updated V11s were not published by ZEC. Team Pachedu requests ZEC to disclose the V11s used to declare the winner.

Zimbabwe conducted harmonized elections on August 23, 20923, but voting delays in Bulawayo and Harare led to an extension until August 24. These cities are considered opposition strongholds. Election observers noted that despite the generally peaceful environment, there were numerous irregularities that affected the integrity of the polls. These included flaws in the delimitation process, late release of the Voters Roll, restrictive fees, disruption of opposition rallies, unconstitutional laws, disqualification of candidates, gender parity issues, concerns about judiciary independence, voter intimidation, controversial postal voting, and bias of state-owned media against opposition parties.

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