By ERC Information department
The 2018 Zimbabwe Harmonised Election results have been plagued with gross inconsistencies and irregularities to the extent that they have shaken the core foundations pillaring the credibility of the electoral process. Credibility and verifiability are constitutionally at the core of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s (ZEC) function, and the Commission was obligated to deliver an election which was credible, verifiable, free and fair.
However, inconsistencies and irregularities have brought the result and credibility of the process into disrepute.
Inconsistencies and irregularities that have plagued the 2018 election results include; discrepancies between presidential and parliamentary votes cast, identical polling station results, among others, as highlighted below:
DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN PRESIDENTIAL & NATIONAL ASSEMBLY RESULTS
2018 results as delivered by ZEC, have shown a trend of higher votes cast at Presidential level as compared to National Assembly level. Procedurally when voting, a voter at the polling station was to be handed 3 ballot papers Local Authority, National Assembly & Presidential ballot papers. Therefore it is common cause that one would vote across all three ballot papers, however the results shown have shown a massive difference in votes cast between the National Assembly and Presidential ballots.
ZEC has unfortunately not awarded the Election Resource Centre (ERC) and other electoral stakeholders the opportunity to verify; the individual polling station returns, the serial numbers of ballot papers used, the register of ballot papers returned by voters, register and serial numbers of ballot papers by voters.