person with a visual impairment who had sought to compel the ZEC to provide Braille ballot papers
in the harmonised elections. The Court decided that Braille was impractical as levels of Braille
literacy are low amongst those with visual impairments. While this may be true, persons with
disabilities advocate an absolute vindication of their right to a secret ballot and suggest that
assistive measures, such as tactile ballot guides or electronic voting machines with an audio
facility, ought to be employed in future elections.
In 2008 the Supreme Court struck down the then prevailing provisions of the Electoral Act which
had required that persons requiring assistance to cast their vote should be assisted by police officers
and others on electoral duty, denying the voter any choice of assistant. The Electoral Act was
amended in advance of the these elections, in a positive manner, to permit persons in need of
assistance to choose their own assistant. Those without an assistant are still assisted by polling
staff and the police.
The BVR process captured data on the disability status of voters. This information was not
subsequently published by ZEC, nor used to make tailored preparations at polling stations for the
access needs of persons with disabilities. Difficulties in gaining access to polling stations were
observed in 10% of polling stations visited by the EU EOM on Election Day. Nonetheless, in a
positive innovation, polling booths with low ledges, to facilitate the participation of wheel-chair
users, were provided in many of the polling stations observed by the EU EOM.
Two members of the Senate, one man and one woman, were elected in Harare on 2 August to
represent persons with disabilities. Statutory Instrument 126 of 2018, the Electoral (Prescribed
Associations and Institutions) Notice, 2018, set out a list of institutions and private voluntary
organisations which were entitled to participate in the electoral college process. This list was
subsequently revised by Statutory Instrument 138A, the Electoral Notice: Correction of Error,
which removed 18 duplications from the list. A total of 170 delegates was invited to participate,
of whom 134 were present on the day. There was some speculation that the lack of full participation
may have been due to the violence which had taken place in the city on 1 August.
The franchise for this election does not extend to individual persons with disabilities, as only
representatives of prescribed bodies may nominate candidates and vote. This is a source of
grievance to some persons with disabilities, as the electorate for the two senatorial positions is
very small. An argument is made that the election could instead be conducted in concert with the
general harmonised elections, with persons with disabilities all eligible to vote for their
representatives.
XIII. Polling, Counting and Collation (Including Postal Voting)
Reasonably well-managed and peaceful voting and counting process in polling stations, some
queue mismanagement and results not posted in some instances
A
Postal Voting
EU EOM observers reported that postal voting was ongoing between 12 and 16 July in a number
of police stations and headquarters, under the supervision of police senior commissioners. The
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