ZESN ANALYSIS OF POLLING STATIONS FROM THE 2013 CONSTITUTIONAL
REFERENDUM FOR THE 2013 HARMONISED ELECTIONS
02 April 2013 – Harare
Summary
As part of is overall observation effort and in advance of the Harmonised elections (anticipated in
2013), the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) conducted an analysis of the list of polling
stations used for the 16 March 2013 Constitutional Referendum, with a view to identifying specific
areas for the attention of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to ensure that all voters will
have a reasonable and equal opportunity to vote.
This analysis focuses on the estimated eligible voters per polling station because there is a limit to
the number of voters which a polling station can reasonably process in a twelve hour period (7am
to 7pm). The analysis also takes into account differences between urban and rural areas. Urban
polling stations can generally accommodate more voters than rural polling stations. Rural areas
generally require more polling stations so people do not have to travel inordinate distance to be
able to exercise their right to vote.
Overall, it is estimated that the ZEC should create an additional 489 polling station stations to
reflect shifting demographics since 2008 so that all voters will have a reasonable opportunity to
vote. This represents a 5% increase in polling stations from the list for the 2013 Constitutional
Referendum. While it is estimated that some new polling stations would need to be created in all of
the ten provinces, nearly half of the new polling stations are needed in Harare province (227 or
46%).
Findings
Using 2012 Census data and age structure data from the 2002 Census, ZESN estimates
the number of eligible voters for the 2013 Harmonised Elections at 6,365,411.
Based on the 2013 Constitutional Referendum list of polling stations, ZESN calculated a
national average of 673 estimated eligible voters per polling station – which is similar to
2008 when there were 606 registered voters per polling station.
The 2013 pattern by province of estimated eligible voters per polling station is very similar
to the 2008 pattern with more estimated eligible voters per polling station for the urban
provinces of Bulawayo and Harare (1,130 and 1,466 respectively) than the other eight provinces which are distinctly more rural (all under 700).
ZESN identified four urban wards with a very high number of estimated eligible voters per
polling station (more than 3,750) and 19 urban wards with a high number estimated
eligible voters per polling station (between 2,001 and 3,750). It is our view thatZEC should
therefore consider - creating additional polling stations in these wards.
ZESN identified seven rural wards with a very high number of estimated eligible voters
per polling station (more than 2,000) and 14 rural wards with a high number of estimated
voters per polling station (between 1,501 and 2,000) which again will very likely need
additional polling stations.
ZESN identified a further 81 urban wards and 107 rural wards with moderately high
number of estimated eligible voters per polling stations (between 1,251 and 2,000 in the
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