motivate those citizens that are eligible to register to present themselves at their respective registration centres whenever registration is being undertaken. ZESN realises though, that the effectiveness of voter education efforts by both ZEC and CSOs accredited to deliver the same will only increase when the political environment allows for genuine and credible political contestation. 4. ELECTION CAMPAIGNS The Fourth schedule of the Electoral Act contains a code of conduct for political parties that when respected, helps create an enabling environment for the conduct of free and fair elections and a climate of tolerance in which electioneering activities takes place without fear or coercion, intimidation or reprisals. The fourth schedule of the electoral act also requires all political parties and candidates to publicly state that everyone has the right— i. ii. iii. iv. to freely express their political beliefs and opinions; to freely challenge and debate the political beliefs and opinions of others; to freely canvass freely for membership and support from voters; to freely attend public meetings convened. The political environment in Chiwundura Constituency was relatively tense with numerous reports of political intolerance and isolated incidence of violence in the build-up to the byelection. According to a Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) report, a day prior to the primary elections, a number of ZANU-PF youths who had been paid to carry out campaigns on behalf of contesting candidates clashed near the Sino-Zimbabwe cement company. An MDC-T youth activist, Ashley Mdutshwa, was caught in the crossfire and left seriously injured after he was attacked by the same youths. Mdutshwa is reported to have been stabbed by the ZANU-PF youths at Gambiza business centre on 21 May 2017 for reasons that are still unclear but believed to have been political. 13 | P a g e