ZESN Report on the 31 July 2013 Harmonised Elections Postal Voting A few days before the polls, ZESN called for greater transparency by the electoral commission in its handling of the postal vote. The postal vote has been a source of political contestation over the years in Zimbabwe’s elections, as many people remain unclear about how they are handled by the commission. According to the Electoral Act, any person who is registered as a voter and lives outside Zimbabwe on duty in the service of Government or is a spouse of a person on government duty is eligible for the postal vote. A person, who is eligible to vote, based on this criterion, is required to apply to the Chief Elections Officer after which permission is then granted or denied for them to vote. After voting, the ballot papers are sent to the Chief Elections Officer and then dispatched to the relevant constituencies and wards indicated by the voter on the envelope. Postal voting for diplomats and those stationed outside the country took place in 42 diplomatic missions in the week beginning 22 July. ZEC indicated that there were only 262 applications for postal voting. ZESN was invited to observe the opening of the special vote and postal vote envelopes. Voter Education There are different types of education that voters may receive with regard to elections. Civic education deals with the principles of democracy, such as citizens’ rights and responsibilities, as well as the structure and workings of government. This is often done by civil society organisations. Voter education is concerned with encouraging and motivating voters to participate in elections and how voters should prepare themselves for voting. Electoral commissions and CSOs can do this. Voter education is a once-off activity happening just before an electoral event, providing voters with information about the date, time, and place of voting; the type of election; identification documents necessary to establish eligibility; registration requirements; and mechanisms for voting. According to section 40A(c) of the Electoral Act, voter education means; “any course or programme of instruction on electoral law and procedure aimed at voters generally and not offered as part of a course in law or civics or any other subject for students at an educational institution.” Section 239H of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the Electoral Act section 40A to 40F, states that only the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission be allowed to conduct and supervise voter education. In order to fulfil the supervisory aspect of its mandate, the commission is required to accredit civic organisations, which may assist the commission to conduct voter education. The Electoral Act provides that any foreign funding for voter education be given to the commission, which then channels it to any other groups if it so desires. With regard to the harmonised poll in 2013, voters received less than adequate voter education and voter information. The referendum itself was conducted without most of the voters having actually read 42 | P a g e