Despite these improvements, the legal framework contains several gaps and has not been fully aligned to the Constitution, for example the right to vote especially for Zimbabweans in the diaspora, and a framework to guide the operations and accreditation of long term observers. There is need to clarify the scope of the Electoral Court’s subject matter jurisdiction, whether the court will deal only with election petitions or any other election related matters whenever they arise at an period in the electoral cycle3. The electoral law must make provision for the provincial councils and election of chairpersons for the provincial council as provided in section 268 of the Constitution that provides for devolution of power4. a) Proclamation Statutory Instrument 83 of 2018, set 30 July 2018 as the date for the election of President, National Assembly, and councillors, in accordance with the Constitution of Zimbabwe 5 and the Electoral Act6. 14 June 2018 was set as the day the Nomination Court would seat for candidates to submit their nomination papers. The 8th of September 2018 was set as the date of the runoff in accordance with the Electoral laws. b) Election Management The ZEC is the body with the responsibility to conduct and manage electoral processes and elections. Section 238 of the Constitution provides for the establishment and composition of the ZEC. The ZEC is made up of a Commission, led by a Chairperson who must be a judge or former judge, or a person qualified for appointment as a judge, and there are eight (8) other members of the Commission. The Chairperson is appointed by the President after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the Committee of Standing Rules and Orders. The other eight members are appointed by the president from a list of not fewer than twelve nominees submitted by the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders7. Functions of the ZEC are provided in Section 239 of the Constitution, and include; registration of voters’; compiling voters’ rolls; delimiting constituencies; designing, printing and distributing ballot papers; conducting and supervising voter education; and, accreditation of observers. On 9 December 2017, the then former Chairperson of the ZEC, Justice Rita Makarau resigned, 7 months before the 2018 harmonised elections and during the process of the BVR. She was replaced by Justice Priscilla Chigumba, who was appointed on the 31 st of January 2018 and sworn in on the 1st of February 2018, after the President made 3 http://www.zesn.org.zw/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/ANALYSIS-OF-THE-ELECTORAL-AMENDMENT-ACT-OF28-MAY-2018.pdf 4 Ibid 5 According to section 158 (1) of the Constitution; A general election must be held so that polling takes place not more than (a) thirty days before the expiry of the five-year period specified in section 143. Section 143 (1) of the Constitution provides that Parliament is elected for a five-year term which runs from the date on which the President-elect is sworn in and assumes office in terms of section 94 (1) (a), and Parliament stands dissolved at midnight on the day before the first polling day in the next general election called in terms of this Constitution. 6 Section 46 (17) (c) and 125 (4) (b) of the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13) 7 Section 238 (1) (a) (b) of the Constitution 13