Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Report — Of Stuffed ballots and Empty Stomachs B. THE VOTING PROCESS IN PRACTICE General observations The process of casting and counting the votes should be designed to prevent the possibility of fraud or rigging. It is crucial that the prescribed processes be followed scrupulously so that both the candidates and the electorate are convinced that the final count accurately reflects the will of the people. A failure to follow procedure in any one place taints the entire process. Given that persons sympathetic to ZANU(PF) comprised the bulk of those administering the process, it is unsurprising that it was carried out in a partisan manner. Procedures were flouted and opposition candidates and their agents’ rights were denied or delayed in many instances. In fact, although statutorily in immediate charge of each polling station, the Presiding Officers clearly deferred to police officers who had been assigned to each polling station and who continuously received instructions by radio.47 Location of Polling Stations The location of polling stations is at the discretion of the Constituency Elections Officer.48 However, other Government officials unlawfully usurped this function. Numerous polling stations were located in non-neutral areas and more obviously suitable sites were ignored. These non-neutral areas included the homesteads of rural headmen and chiefs, 49 and resettlement areas inhabited by ZANU(PF) militants who had rendered the areas no-go areas for the MDC during the campaigning period. Some of these unsuitable sites are listed in Table A at the end of this report. Often polling stations were placed in remote and sparsely populated areas. In some instances booms and gates controlled access to the polling stations and, in passing through these, voters were subjected to “scrutiny” by ZANU(PF) supporters,50 who sometimes demanded the voters’ National ID numbers before allowing them to proceed. Complaints made in this regard were ignored. The list of polling stations was published by ZEC on a national basis rather than by the Constituency Elections Officer as required. 47 48 49 50 See http://www.sokwanele.com/elections.html. Section 51 of the Electoral Act. On the role of chiefs and headmen, see below. See MDC Election Petition for Harare South para 14. 17