Elderly people were vulnerable to manipulation and voter intimidation during the pre-election phase by traditional chiefs and leaders, primarily in rural areas. Civil society groups monitoring the elections identified a significant problem, whereby voters’ registration slips were retrieved from elderly persons as a precondition to access food aid and agricultural inputs. As a result, many faced high levels of intimidation and undue influence. A significant majority of elderly voters reside in rural Zimbabwe, where tracking of voter literacy and education was low, Thus, the demographic information on how many elderly persons received or participated in voter education sessions remains unclear. A positive note on accessibility for older persons at registration and polling stations was the use of SMS and USSD codes on cell phones, which proved effective for individuals without access to the internet. On Election Day, priority access was provided for elderly persons, with separate queues designated for them at many polling stations across both urban and rural areas. Observers across all ten provinces noted that elderly persons who were illiterate or disabled required assistance, particularly older women, mostly concentrated in rural areas. Observers noted that there was a split between the number of assisted voters who brought an assistant versus those who were assisted by the election officers at the poll. Polling stations exhibited some of the challenges of physical accessibility for elderly persons, including difficult terrain, long distances from residential dwellings, lack of transportation and poor lighting. Recommendations  In line with previous recommendations, as Zimbabwe’s economy evolves, the Group hopes that efforts will be made to address accessibility challenges, physical and visual, on Election Day and in the pre-election period at the polling station and voter registration sites.  Consideration should be given to the development of a co-ordinated partnership arrangement, which would enable civil society to support the ZEC through a more targeted and systematic approach in fulfilling its voter education and outreach mandate, especially to reach rural and more remote places in the country. Civil society Organised civil society in Zimbabwe dates back to the 1990s and has been a robust and diverse civic community comprising trade unions, associations, think-tanks, charities, community-based organisations, women’s groups, youth groups and developmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs), among others. In Zimbabwe, the Private Voluntary Organisations Act is the legal framework that governs civil society sector grants. The Minister of Social Welfare has discretionary 33