The ZESN June newsletter is now out. This edition covers key electoral issues including the participation of women in politics and the diaspora vote. Read on for these and other electoral issues.
Midlands Female Politicians in Drive for Equal Participation in Elections
Female politicians in Midlands have set aside political differences and are rallying for a common cause to foster equal participation with their male counterparts in the 2023 elections. This comes amid realisation that there is very low representation of women in political positions in local authorities and parliament. It was established that out of the 6 800 candidates who contested in the previous elections for seats in the 92 local authorities, only 17 percent were women.
Diaspora Vote Remains Key to Electoral Reforms
Civic society organizations in Zimbabwe have said that the Diaspora vote remains key to their electoral reform agenda as this emerged several times after from the 2018 election observer missions’ (EOM) recommendations. The Electoral Act only guarantees government employees such as diplomats the rights to vote from outside the country under the postal voting model. Observer missions of the 2018 harmonized elections called on the government to facilitate postal voting to every Zimbabwean as guaranteed under section 67 of the Constitution which speaks to universal suffrage and guarantees every citizen above the age of 18 the right to vote.
Read the full e-Newsletter here (4MB PDF)
Source: Zimbabwe Election Support Network
