Historical Background

The history of election management bodies in Zimbabwe dates back to the colonial period when the right to vote was, to a large extent, a preserve and privilege of the white adults. The few Africans that were with time allowed to vote for specified Africans seats had tightly defined qualifications that included education and property. Thus any bodies managing elections - for what they were worth - operated within the discriminatory context that was Rhodesia then. This unjust system could not be allowed to continue to exist and hence the war of liberation and the resultant majority rule in 1980, following the signing of the Lancaster House Agreement in December 1979, which Agreement gave birth to the much maligned Lancaster House Constitution (LHC) . The new Constitution ushered in a new era that marked the beginning of the evolution of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), the election management body in existence today, following a number of Constitutional amendments and related electoral laws.

     

     Its establishment and attendant mandate follows various recommendations by, among others, its predecessor, the Electoral Supervisory Commission , some sectors of civil society and not least the Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) signed by the SADC Heads of State and Governments in Mauritius in 2004. Basically, the rationale behind most of the recommendations were two fold: on one hand, to streamline the management of electoral processes and related activities under one body and, on the other hand, to address public perceptions about the independence and impartiality of the EMB in running transparent, free and fair elections. Such a body would contribute to the enhancement of democracy through the institutionalization of democratic practices and values.