Areas of concern The mission noted the concerns raised by stakeholders on the voter register and printing of ballot papers and encourages ZEC to engage stakeholders after the elections to address these matters to ensure that they that they are not an issue in future. Areas in need of improvement are: iv) Allocation of polling stations There was confusion at some polling stations as some voters had no knowledge of where they would vote from. Some voters were turned away because they joined the wrong queue and had to be redirected to their correct polling stations. v) Voting Process The voting process at some polling stations with larger voter population was slow. The Mission noted the challenge of poor lighting at some polling stations in tents which could have compromised the vote counting process. Also of concern was the small print on the ballot paper which should be reviewed. vi) Counting of results Some polling stations delayed the start of the counting of ballots due to the amount of paper work required for the ballot paper account. Recommendations The ESN-Southern Africa Observer Mission recommends that: 1. Assisted voters Whilst the law is clear as to whom can be a confidante for an assisted voter, the rules need to be applied procedurally so as not to violate the secrecy of the vote. The ZEC Election Manual should provide adequate details on the procedure for assisted voters. It was noted that in some cases assistance by the Presiding Officer was witnessed by a police officer and two polling staff. This number of witnesses compromised the secrecy of the vote. 2. Results management system A review of the counting process is recommended and should include the reduction of the forms during the count. The mode of transmission of results from the polling to the Page 41