However if constituencies with fewer numbers of people are permitted to elect the same number of representatives as constituencies with larger numbers of people, the notion of one person one vote is undermined as it would mean other votes carry more weight than others. However, in previous years, the delimitation exercise has neither been transparent nor timely in relation to the elections. The process has also been at risk of political manipulation, with the ruling party and President usually having greater and earlier access to and control over delimitation data and therefore enjoying an unfair advantage over other candidates. There was also a problem in respect of the lack of independence of the authority which was charged with the mandate of carrying out delimitation, which was wholly appointed by the President, who was also a candidate in elections. Setting election boundaries is also important as it affects the allocation of polling stations in the different wards of a constituency. Where the delimitation exercise is done late, this will also mean the late publication of the list of polling stations with the resulting associated problems where errors might have occurred and this could disenfranchise voters1. Overall, delimitation can be manipulated by an interested party to sway an election in their favour, by creating and strengthening favourable constituencies, while undermining constituencies perceived to be in opposition. This is why the process of delimitation must also be watched carefully. Impact of migration One population dynamic which affects electoral boundaries and requires regular review is the migration of people, the most critical of which is rural to urban migration and vice-versa. The push and pull factors for these migration patterns are varied – they can include incentives such as the free provision of urban housing stands to the homeless, as a legitimate empowerment mechanism but also probably a bait to populate and dilute urban constituencies with a new set of voters. In one case, Harare North Constituency in 2008, the voters’ roll indicated 8450 voters registered under the name of a housing co-operative but the location was actually deserted. Migration can also be due to forced displacement during or after election periods. There is documented evidence of large-scale displacement of rural citizens between the 29 March elections and 27 June elections in 2008. Operation Murambatsvina in 2005 and demolitions in 2015/16, saw the violent displacement of new urban dwellers after their homes were destroyed by government on the grounds that they were illegal structures. Such migration results in vast changes to population distribution in wards and constituencies, affecting their numbers and therefore representation. When voters have been forcibly displaced due to political violence and intimidation, they have been dislocated from their natural constituencies and they have not been able to vote. Furthermore, some constituencies have become under-represented as they have gained more people than a reflected on the 1 Previous elections such as in 2008 demonstrate the myriad of problems arising from the late completion of the delimitation exercise. In some cases, processes have been hurriedly done, with subsequent distortions to the voters’ rolls and ward boundaries where family members using the same address have been registered in different wards. 2|Page