(a) free of charge, to every nominated candidate, one copy in electronic form of the constituency voters roll to be used in the election for which the candidate has been nominated; and (b) at the request of any nominated candidate, and on payment of the prescribed fee, one copy in printed form of the constituency voters roll to be used in the election for which the candidate has been nominated. (7) Where a voter’s roll is provided in electronic form in terms of subsection (3), (4) or (6), its format shall be such as allows its contents to be searched and analysed: Provided that— (i) the roll may be formatted so as to prevent its being altered or otherwise tampered with; i. the Commission may impose reasonable conditions on the provision of the roll to prevent it from being used for commercial or other purposes unconnected with an election.” Despite repeated requests made in writing and verbally both to the ZEC by the two MDC’s neither were supplied with an electronic copy of the voters roll as was their right prior to the election or at all. Indeed one week after the election there was still no sign of the electronic voters roll. ZEC cited logistical problems for its failure to comply with the law. The failure by the ZEC to comply with Section 21 of the Electoral Act constitutes a very serious breach of the Act but also of the entire electoral process. The provision of a voters roll forms the bedrock of the electoral process in all democracies but especially in Zimbabwe where repeated elections over the last 13 years have been marred by allegations and proof of electoral fraud cantered on the manipulation and distortion of the voters roll. In short the failure by ZEC to comply with Section 21 (6) and (7) of the Electoral Act rendered the entire election illegal and at the very least meant that it could no longer be viewed as free and fair. Post commencement of voting 1. Turning away of voters On 31 July 2013 at least 300 000 potential voters were turned away for various reasons, ranging from their names being moved from their wards to other constituencies while names of many others were not on the roll despite having been registered or having inspected the voter’s roll prior to the elections. A substantial number of people voted using fake voter registration slips even though their names did not appear on the voters’ roll. The ZEC itself admitted that 304890 voters were turned away countrywide. 2. Poor quality ink and poor lighting in tents The ink used to mark voters in terms of Section 56 (4) (b) of the Electoral Act (to indicate that a voter has voted) was sub standard and washed off easily. Each voter was required to dip a finger in pink ink. However this ink came off very easily and even using normal soap it came off with a few washes. Anyone using an appropriate chemical would be able to easily remove the ink and then vote again, and again. That situation was compounded by the fact that many of the polling stations were in tents with very poor lighting even at midday, which made it virtually impossible for polling officers to adequately check that potential voters did not vote more than once. 3. Absence of ultraviolet light detectors Historically polling stations in Zimbabwe have always had ultraviolet light detecting machines to check whether potential voters have ink on their fingers. These machines of course provide the most secure manner of checking whether a potential voter has already voted. For reasons, which have not been explained by the ZEC, there was not a single machine used in most constituencies. The absence or non-application of these machines seriously compromised the legitimacy of the elections and would have been a key component in the facilitation of double voting. 48