1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On 24 July 2015, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) conducted a National Assembly by-election in Mudzi West. The by-election was necessitated by the death of the ZANU-PF incumbent, Aqualinah Katsande, on 28th March, 2015. Following the invitation by ZEC, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) deployed 11 short term observers for the by-election comprising static observers based at some of the ward and constituency collation centres. In addition, two teams of mobile observers were deployed. Zimbabwe’s electoral legal framework generally provides a basis for the conduct of credible elections. This is also in line with the country’s regional and international commitments. Notwithstanding this, there remains a need for electoral and political reforms as the prevailing polarised political environment and a culture of intimidation and threats have a negative impact on the professional conduct and management of elections by electoral and related state institutions. In addition, a piecemeal approach to electoral reform persists and alignment of electoral laws to the Constitution remains incomplete. The pre-electoral environment was largely peaceful unlike that which prevailed before the 16 by-elections that were held on June 10, 2015, which were marred by reports of widespread voter intimidation, actions that constituted vote buying, abuse of state resources and traditional leaders. ZESN observers and interlocutors who ZESN interviewed in the period leading to the Mudzi West by-election attributed the relatively peaceful environment to the absence of genuine political contest. ZESN continues to be concerned by the unusually high number of people that request assistance when intending to cast their vote. ZESN urges the Commission to develop inexpensive mechanisms to document the literacy levels of voters when voters present themselves for registration at voter registration centres. This will enable the Commission to gather the required statistics which can help develop voter education material that meets the unique needs of this category of voters. Consequently, the number of assisted voters will be reduced and the provision for assisted voters will hopefully be insulated from abuse. In polling stations where ZESN observers were deployed, opening and setup procedures were successfully completed on time. Observers reported that all polling stations had all the required voting materials such as ballot boxes, ballot papers, ZEC official stamp, indelible ink and the voters’ roll at the time of opening. All polling stations covered by ZESN observers had adequate polling personnel with an average of six per polling station. ZESN observer reports show that the process was generally peaceful and smooth with no major incidents reported. At all polling stations where ZESN observed closing of polls and counting, the processes took place according to procedures and results were displayed outside the polling stations. At all 5|P a g e