Heal Zimbabwe in collaboration with the Election Resource Centre (ERC) and Zimrights monitored the Bikita West by-election.
All the 58 polling stations closed at 7pm and the counting of votes has commenced. Heal Zimbabwe had a mobile team that monitored all the 58 polling stations.
Apart from the mobile team, Heal Zimbabwe also had 58 trained human rights monitors at every polling station.
Generally, the electoral environment was peaceful with no recorded incidences of overt political violence in the areas visited by Heal Zimbabwe.
There was high voter turnout at most polling stations with the majority of voters being women. The by election was however marred by increasing reports of assisted voters, intimidation of voters and compilation of names. There was also a markedly high number of assisted voters.
Heal Zimbabwe notes that such electoral malpractices witnessed in the by election compromise the conditions for a free and fair election. Heal Zimbabwe will produce a more detailed report of the by election.
