Zimbabweans will head to the polls on August 23 to elect a president and members of parliament. This will be the ninth election in the country of an estimated 15.5 million people since it gained independence in 1980.
A total of 6.5 million people have registered to vote across the 12,340 polling stations in Zimbabwe's ten provinces.
Who is Running for Top Position?
According to the ZEC, 11 candidates, including the incumbent president, are vying for the highest office in the land. That's a significant drop from the 23 who ran in the last election in 2018. This year, each candidate had to pay a nomination fee of $20,000, up from $1,000.
However, the race is largely seen as a rematch between these two:
Incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa of the governing Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF),
Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa of the Citizen's Coalition for Change (CCC).
Mnangagwa, 80, a former minister of state security and speaker of parliament, led the country after long-time president Robert Mugabe was deposed in 2017, and then won elections a year later.
Chamisa, a 45-year-old lawyer who served as minister of information and communications technology, has led the CCC since it was formed in January 2022 after splitting from the Movement for Democratic Change - Alliance, the former leading opposition party. As of now, Chamisa heads Zimbabwe's largest opposition alliance, and is seen as the main face of the country's opposition.
What About Parliamentary Elections?
In addition to the presidential vote, Zimbabweans will also elect local council representatives and members of parliament, which is made up of the National Assembly and Senate.
Under the 2013 Constitution, the National Assembly of Zimbabwe, the lower house, has 270 members. Of these, 210 are elected through single-member constituencies. The remaining 60 seats are specifically reserved for women and are allocated through proportional representation in ten constituencies of six seats each. This proportional representation is based on the geographical division of the country's provinces.
The 80 members of the Senate include 60 members elected from ten six-member constituencies by proportional representation using party lists. The other 20 seats include two reserved for the disabled and 18 for traditional leaders.
How Do Zimbabweans Vote?
The ZEC oversees the voter registration process, during which eligible citizens over the age of 18 can register to vote. Registration centers are set up throughout the country, and citizens are required to provide proof of identity and residence in order to be added to the voters' roll.
On election day, polling stations are set up across the whole country. The stations are staffed by election officials who control the voting process. Each station serves a certain number of registered voters, while the location of polling stations is announced in advance.
After casting a ballot, a voter dips his or her finger in special indelible ink, which is used during elections in several countries in order to prevent electoral fraud. After the polls close, the ballot boxes are transported to designated counting centers.
The ZEC collects, verifies and counts the results from all the polling stations to count the total number of votes received by each candidate. This process is supervised by the commission and monitored by representatives of the political parties and independent observers.
When Will ZEC Announce the Results?
The results of the general elections are expected to be announced within five days of the close of voting.
For MPs and councilors, the first-past-the-post system is used, that is, the person with the most votes wins.