Zimbabwe – Ready for Elections? 9 preserve of civil servants and employees of local authorities.25 It remains exclusionary although SADC Principles call for it to be inclusive.26 Concerns about the impartiality which Zimbabwe has to ensure according to the OAU Guidelines27 and SADC Principles28 remain. As in past elections, the fact that new recruits to the public service have had to undergo training under a National Youth Service programme that is heavily politicized, remains a concern. As at 20 July, barely 10 days before elections, it remains unclear how capacitated ZEC is in terms of numbers of polling officers recruited. On 13 June, it was reported that the Public Service Commission had approved that civil servants participate in elections.29 In the past 2008 elections the ZEC publicly indicated its capacity in terms of the number of recruited and trained polling officers. This has not been done in 2013. The ZEC Chairperson has however, during consultative meetings with stakeholders including civil society, advised that at least 15 000 ZEC polling officials who will be participating in the harmonised elections had applied to cast special votes.30 There seems to be a lacuna in the electoral law as there is no provision obliging ZEC to ensure that all temporary staff members are recruited timeously to ensure that they are properly and comprehensively trained on time and able to appreciate the electoral process. Even so, it is unlikely that the ZEC officials will be adequately prepared as it may be difficult to provide adequate skills training to carry out the onerous functions required during harmonised elections where the electoral system used will be different than in the past. It is also not clear how far ZEC has complied with the obligation to provide adequate resources to ensure personnel will effectively carry out their duties in accordance with the SADC Principles and AU Guidelines.31 In 2008 ZEC, in its training manuals, provided inaccurate information to polling officers. Contradictions in the Constitution and the Electoral Act make this issue worse. For instance, in the Special Vote polling officers’ manual, the number of observers allowed in a polling station is limited to four32 despite the fact that the regulations stipulate that at least six observers must be in the polling station. This has the potential to cause problems, given the fact that in 2008 some temporary staff members were accused of electoral fraud all attributable to insufficient training and late recruitment on the part of ZEC then. It is hoped that the obligation to provide adequate resources that include well-trained personnel will nevertheless be fulfilled in the 31 July election. These issues relating to questionable composition and training of ZEC personnel have already revealed themselves in ZEC’s handling of the 2013 election-related processes 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Section 17(1) of the Electoral Act, as amended. Principle 7.3 of the SADC Principles. Part III(c) of the OAU Guidelines. Principle 7.3 of the SADC Principles. “Elections present cash deal for civil servants” The Herald (13 June 2013) p 1. Part III(c) of the OAU Declaration. See Principle 7.6 of the SADC Principles; Part III of the OAU Guidelines. Paragraph 7 p 11 of the Manual for polling officers conducting Special Vote.