and consent or approval of any of his or her agents, and the effect of such practice was such as to have materially affected the outcome of that election.39 The provisions on intimidation are a welcome addition to the electoral law. They spell out in detail what constitutes the offence of intimidation. For example, inflicting or threatening to inflict bodily harm, causing or threatening to cause bodily harm or abducting a person is an offence if the person doing these things compels a person or persons generally to vote for a political party or to refrain from voting or to attend a political meeting. The offence will also be committed by a person who, in order to compel another person to vote for a political party, withholds or threatens to withhold any assistance to which that other person is entitled or illegally does or threatens to do anything to the disadvantage of another person. These latter provisions would cover a traditional leader who threatens to expel a villager if he does not vote for the ruling party or a traditional leader or government official who withholds or threatens to withhold food aid to persons unless they vote for the ruling party. There are further provisions, which seek to stamp out other forms of intimidation that have dogged previous elections within Zimbabwe. Thus it is an offence for a person to use intimidation to prevent or obstruct or attempt to prevent or obstruct a political party or candidate from campaigning in any election. It is also an offence for a person to prevent or discourage a person from voting by taking, destroying or damaging another person’s proof of identity, voters’ registration certificate or other document by which that person may be identified as a voter. The Amendment Bill also contains provisions that are intended to ensure that polling stations are not located at sites, which may be intimidatory to voters. Thus polling stations may not be sited: • in premises owned or occupied by a political party or a candidate; • in a police station, barracks or other place where police officers or Defence Forces are permanently stationed; • at any other place that may give rise to a reasonable apprehension by voters that their votes will not be secret or that the integrity of the voting process could be compromised.40 It is suggested that the last provision should be interpreted so as to exclude setting up a polling station at the homestead of a Chief. Regrettably many Chiefs are now perceived as being staunch supporters of the ruling party and villagers in the area would thus have a reasonable apprehension that the Chief in question might seek to regiment them and seek to influence the way in which they vote. The Bill also provides that police officers will be excluded from polling stations, except when they are voting or when they are specifically summoned to assist election officers in quelling a disturbance.41 Finally, as already indicated, under the Electoral Act at present, illiterate or physically handicapped voters must be assisted in voting by a police officer on duty in the polling station. Some of these voters felt intimidated by the presence of the police officer, and the Bill now excludes police officers from the process.42 These provisions, however, will have an impact in suppressing such electoral malpractices only if they are properly enforced. Regrettably the law enforcement agencies in the past have dis- 39 See the new sec 155 of the Act. 40 Clause 38 of the Bill. 41 Clause 40 of the Bill. 42 Clauses 42 and 43 of the Bill. 19