A five-member delegation from the Election Commission of India, led by Shri Manoj Kumar Meena, Chief Electoral Officer, State of Karnataka, India (an Indian State), visited Zimbabwe as Observer Mission for the harmonised Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Bodies Elections in Zimbabwe, held on 23 and 24 August, 2023.
The Observer Team visited various constituencies and interacted with the locals in Zimbabwe from 17th August onwards up to the Election Days of 23 – 24 August.
It was observed that campaign was peaceful to a large extent, barring a few incidents as reported in the media. There was a significant and visible presence of election awareness material at various locations. The team also had the opportunity to witness campaigns at first hand.
The team interacted with Polling Personnel at one of the remotest Polling Stations in the town of Hwange, one day prior to the Election Day to see the preparedness of the polling party and observed that they were well aware of the procedure, rules and regulations pertaining to elections.
A unique feature that was noticed was clearly labelled jackets donned by all the Polling Personnel for easy identification. It was also heartening to see that the women polling personnel outnumbered men in many of the polling stations.
On the main day of polling viz. 23 August, the Observer Team visited a number of Polling Stations at Bulawayo and Harare, and observed that a large number of electors from different walks of society were queued up to cast their franchise, with great enthusiasm which displays their faith in democracy.
To sum up, the Team is of the view that the polling was largely peaceful and successful. The election was transparent and generally credible.
The Team was moved by the warmth and courteous nature of the people of Zimbabwe.
The Observer Team would like to compliment Zimbabwe Election Commission and the Government and the people of Zimbabwe, for successfully conducting the harmonized elections of Zimbabwe
Source Bulawayo24
