8. SPECIAL NEEDS GROUPS, WOMEN AND YOUTH AND YOUTH PARTICIPATION 8.1 Special Needs Groups Throughout the voter registration process, special needs groups and traditionally marginalized communities were observed participating in the process. At 100% of the registration centres where ZESN observed ZEC officials made deliberate efforts to ensure that the elderly, nursing and pregnant women and persons with disabilities received necessary assistance, including preferential treatment. The later took the form of moving them ahead of the queue whenever there were queues at the registration centres, assistance with completing the Voter registration forms and help to access registration centres in instances where there were no ramps for those using wheelchairs. ZESN noted and commended the setting up of mobile registration centres at places like the Parliament of Zimbabwe building, old people's homes, hospitals and institutions housing people with disabilities. However, the Network also noted that these centres were not sufficiently publicized in all the ten provinces to ensure that eligible special needs citizens could take advantage of them to register. Challenges observed by ZESN: i. ii. iii. Some registration centres in rural areas especially those in tents were not equipped to deal with women and other special needs groups as they were distant from sources of clean water and ablution facilities. This situation affected female registrants as well as female registration officials and observers. Limited mobilisation and education efforts towards special needs groups like people with disabilities. Accessibility of some centres: Some registration centres were inaccessible to special needs groups like people with disabilities due to the absence of PWD friendly facilities. ZESN observers noted such facilities at registration centres in Gokwe, Murombedzi, Gweru, Mudzi, Zvimba, and Chipinge. Shiku School in Runde Ward 4, Mount Belingwe in Ward 4, Mberengwa North. Invariably, these registration centres were either in multi-floor buildings, difficult to navigate terrain or didn't have facilities like ramps for ease of access. 8.2 Youth Participation Youth participation (citizens aged below the age of 30) in electoral processes in Zimbabwe has always been low, with previous registration processes and resultant voters' rolls severely under-representing the youth demographic. In the 2013 Voters' roll, the Research and Advocacy Unit in two reports post an audit of the voters’ roll argued that those under 30, were under registered in comparison with their older counterparts. RAU noted massive under registration of young women in the urban areas at 69 190 entries versus 556 264 in the over 30 group. For rural areas it was 293 408 entries for those under 30 years versus 1 860 609 entries for those over 30 years, while for mixed rural-urban areas it was 41 462 35