educators informing people about the exercise prior to the commencement of the inspection period. Minimal Voter Education The complexity of Zimbabwe’s first synchronized presidential and parliamentary elections, which require voters to simultaneously cast four different ballot papers on the same day, makes voter education an extremely important element of the electoral process. However, there seems to be very little understanding around the country about the conduct of the elections that will be taking place. Less than two months before the elections, Human Rights Watch interviewed 30 people in the provinces of Manicaland and Matabeleland North and South in February 2008, who said that although they were aware that elections were taking place, they did not know which wards they would be voting in or that they would vote in four separate elections in one day. According to a ZESN election monitor from Lupane, “People have no idea how these elections will be conducted. They don’t even know that the elections will take place in one day. They keep saying they are four separate elections, so we will vote over four days. Very little information is out there.”130 Under the Electoral Amendment Act, the ZEC should commence a voter education program not later than 90 days before polling day.131 However, Human Rights Watch visited numerous areas in Zimbabwe’s provinces and found that very little voter education was taking place. Many people informed Human Rights Watch that they had not seen any ZEC officers in their areas. ZEC officers were observed carrying out voter education exercises in the main cities of Harare and Bulawayo but not in the rural areas, where such education is especially necessary given the lack of media access and the lower literacy rate of voters. ZESN officials did note an increase in the number of voter education officers deployed by ZEC around the country in the weeks before the elections. However, ZESN argued that the information provided by the voter education officers was often inaccurate or not extensive enough.132 130 Human Rights Watch interview with ZESN election monitor (name withheld), Bulawayo, February 14, 2008. 131 Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act, 2004, section 15 A (1), as amended by the Electoral Laws Amendment Act of 2007. 132 Human Rights Watch interview with Noel Kututwa, Harare, March 12, 2008. All Over Again 42