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ZESN barred from voter education
The Standard (Zimbabwe)
February 17, 2008

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/viewinfo.cfm?linkid=11&id=8365&siteid=1

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) last week barred, with immediate effect, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) from conducting voter education, The Standard confirmed yesterday. It is feared that because of the complicated electoral process, the ZEC directive is likely to result in the highest number of spoilt ballot papers since 1980. Voters will be required to vote for several candidates at once in the elections for president, parliament (House of Assembly and Senate) and local authorities.

ZESN responded with shock to the directive. The national director, Rindai Chipfunde-Vava, said they would cease immediately their voter education campaign, but would now focus on civic education, as this did not require ZEC approval. Chipfunde-Vava said ZESN had last Monday submitted an application to the ZEC seeking authority to conduct voter education campaigns. The ZEC has been unable to conduct a nation-wide electoral education campaign, especially on areas of voter registration and inspection of the voters' roll, leaving the function to ZESN. Although ZEC says it is conducting a door-to-door voter education exercise, with only six weeks to go before the polls it is doubtful the exercise will reach many potential voters ahead of 29 March. There is no immediate evidence of the voter education campaign being conducted by the ZEC. For example, the ZEC is yet to publish in the national media the constituency and ward boundaries, the number and location of the polling stations, or how voters can tell which wards they now fall under with the new system of ward-based voting.

But last night campaigners said the ZEC directive was "petty" and smacked of envy for the work ZESN was undertaking. They pointed out that ZEC had started late in running its campaign and that its visibility and effect were limited. ZESN, on the other hand, they said, started its voter education campaign last year. "They have no capacity, they started late, and they don't appear to have adequate resources", one campaigner told The Standard yesterday. We are complementing what they are doing and if they view ZESN as competitors, surely that's petty."

On Wednesday ZEC wrote to the ZESN: "We note with concern that the Zimbabwe Election Support Network has been conducting voter education through the medium of the print and electronic media although the voter education material was never sanctioned by the commission. Be advised that the current advertisements being flighted by yourselves are in contravention of the law and you are therefore requested to stop any further publications forthwith until authority to publish or broadcast the same is obtained from the Commission." The Commission said in terms of Section 15 (1) of the ZEC Act (Chapter 2:12), no other person other than the Commission, or a person appointed in terms of Section 14 (3), or a political party should provide voter education unless such person conducts voter education in accordance with a course or programme of instruction furnished or approved by the Commission.

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