THE STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT |ZIMBABWE I 2017 Developments The voter registration process was, however, • Attacks on civil society have continued in 2018 characterized by human rights violations. Heal with the Ministry of Social Welfare attempting to Zimbabwe Trust recorded a total of 5 707 cases of order all NGOs to come under its control and human rights violations centered on the BVR and “of authority. the 10 provinces, 34 • ZANU-PF has continued to use the old infrastructure for repression, controlling the state media and its members taking over private media. 980 1120 MASHONALAND CENTRAL MASHONALAND EAST H • The government has not shown the will to strike out of the statute books such laws that restrict civic space like POSA and AIPPA. 645 89 1120 MIDLANDS MATEBELELAND NORTH • The government has sort of abolished the notorious Ministry of Cyber Security but maintained the portfolio under the Ministry of ICT but with the same terms of reference. B 140 MATEBELELAND SOUTH MASHONALAND WEST 700 MANICALAND 900 MASVINGO • The Cyber Crime and Cyber Security Bill still needs a lot of cleansing. Human rights violations distribution Governance, Elections Participation and Notable violations noted during the registration process included harassment and intimidation of registrants where registrants were asked to submit serial numbers on their registration slips to traditional leaders or ZANU-PF supporters and inter party violence. The violations were also accompanied with threats of withdrawal of food aid and agricultural inputs. The main perpetrators were identified in reports produced by the Forum35, ZESN36 and Heal Zimbabwe37 as ZANU-PF leadership mainly ward Chairpersons, traditional leaders, ZANU-PF youth officers, councilors and war veterans. The year 2017 saw the intensification of the preparations for the 2018 national elections. This commenced with voter registration following the gazetting of the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Amendment of Electoral Act) Regulations 2017 as Statutory Instrument 117/2017, amending the Electoral Act. Voter registration was carried out using the BVR system for the first time. The BVR blitz lasted 72 days from the 10th of October to the 19th of December 2017. However, the BVR mop up exercise is still ongoing. According to the Zimbabwe Election Commission as of 7 February 2018, a total of 5 264 674 people had registered to vote. 33 See the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, Biometric Voter Registration Update 14, http://www.zesn.org.zw/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/BVR-Update-Number-19.pdf 34 See Heal Zimbabwe’s Biometric Voter Registration- Human rights Violations Report, February 2018 http://www.healzimbabwetrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/BVR-Human-Rights-Violations-Report.pdf 35 See the Forum’s monthly Human Rights Violations Reports October- November 2017, available on http://www.hrforumzim.org/publications/ 36 See ZESN’s Biometric Voter Registration Update reports, available on http://www.zesn.org.zw/ 37 See Heal Zimbabwe Trust’s Biometric Voter Registration update reports. http://www.healzimbabwetrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/BVR-Human-Rights-Violations-Report.pdf 33 30