Voter Education and Registration While some civil society organisations were accredited by ZEC to conduct voter education, there were hinderances placed on civil society in conducting voter education programs. The NGO, Veritas, filed at least two court cases challenging provisions in the Electoral Act that prohibit NGOs from conducting voter education without prior accreditation from ZEC. Both cases were dismissed by the High Court. To facilitate registration, a reprieve on payments for birth certificates and national identity card services was obtained by the Registrar-General’s office through the Ministry of Finance. From 20 September to 30 November 2017, those who needed birth certificates and identity cards services were able to obtain them free of charge. Voters waiting to cast their votes on 30 July 2018 Ÿ prisoners Tungamirai Madzokere, Last Maengahama and Yvonne Musarurwa, seeking an order compelling ZEC to allow them to vote in the general elections. Some individual born of parents of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) citizenship with identity cards designated “Alien” were turned away from voter registration by ZEC. In terms of section 43 of the Constitution, such individuals are citizens, and they are entitled to vote and need not obtain citizenship certificates. High Court Justice Nyaradzo MunangatiManongwa ordered that this class of citizens be allowed to register to vote, following an application by Sarah Kachingwe, a 57-yearold woman who had been turned away by ZEC officials at Makomo in Epworth on the basis that she was an “alien”. Zimbabweans in the diaspora were precluded from voting, and for the second time in 5 years, the Constitutional Court dismissed a challenge by three Zimbabweans in the diaspora seeking to vote, in Shumba & 2 Others v Minister of Justice, Legal & Parliamentary Affairs & 5 Others CCZ 4-18. Ÿ Immigrants from SADC countries who were eligible for citizenship were unable to obtain it due to a prohibitive cost of US$5 000 per applicant. Media Coverage According to ZESN, “the media demonstrated an improved understanding of electoral issues. However, there was evidence to suggest that the media was still polarised with regards to coverage of electoral issues, despite legal and ethical obligations aimed at ensuring impartiality and balanced coverage of campaigns, parties, and candidates. There was bias in favour of the incumbent while opposition and smaller parties, as well as women, got far less coverage. Over six weeks of the election period, ZANU-PF got 52% coverage while the MDC Alliance got 19%. Whereas Emmerson Mnangagwa got 57% coverage, Nelson Chamisa got 15%. ZANU-PF got 76% coverage in State-run newspapers and 48% on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), while the MDC Alliance got 17% and 6% respectively. Furthermore, while the pre-election environment witnessed no violations of rights for media personnel, seven cases were recorded after polling, between 1 and 3 August”. 3 Disenfranchisement Certain classes of citizens were ineligible to vote. Specific Violations Ÿ Prisoners were denied the right to vote, and on 11 July the High Court reserved judgment after presiding over an application filed by 3. ZESN, Report on the 30 July 2018 Harmonised Elections, page 10. Report available at http://www.zesn.org.zw/wpcontent/uploads/2018/12/Final-ZESN-2018-Harmonised-Election-Report.pdf 8 STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT ZIMBABWE 2018