The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has published a provisional list of polling stations for the 31 July 2013 harmonised elections. To make things easier for would-be voters, we’ve put these into Excel and PDF spreadsheets by province, and made some clickable maps for the country and for major cities of Zimbabwe.

Know where to vote!

Remember, you have to vote in the ward and constituency where you are registered. If you know you are registered, but you can’t remember which ward or constituency you are in, you can use the My Zim Vote site to look up your entry in the voters’ roll and get that information. Just make sure you enter your ID number in the correct format so they can find your entry!

Once you know where you’re registered, look up the provisional polling stations for your area.

You can do this in a few ways:

• View Excel and PDF lists of provisional polling stations by province here
• In Harare? Use the Harare Province clickable map (Includes Epworth and Chitungwiza)
• In Bulawayo? Use the clickable map for polling stations in Bulawayo
• In Gweru? Use the clickable map for Gweru Urban polling stations (includes Chiwundura and Mkoba)
• In Masvingo? Use the clickable map for Masvingo Municipality polling stations
• In Mutare? Use the clickable map for Mutare City polling stations
• Anywhere else in Zimbabwe? Use the map for the whole country (Note this will take longer to load. Just zoom in to your area)

If you’re using the clickable maps, zoom in to the map so you can see the address for the location where you’ve registered, and click there. Cross check that the information you get in the pop-up window is correct for your ward and constituency. The list of polling stations for your ward are the polling stations where you can vote.

The latest installment of the not-so-funny comedy of errors plaguing Zimbabwe’s 31 July harmonised election. How’s this for outrageous? Read the press statement from RAU about the launch of their voters’ roll audit report being banned.

The Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) intended to launch a detailed analysis of the Voters’ Roll this morning. This detailed audit comes in the wake of a preliminary report that RAU released on the 5th of July 2013.

RAU has had to cancel the launch of this report however because the Registrar General at 8.17a.m  left  an interdict at our offices from the High Court  to stop the event from going ahead at the Crowne Plaza the chosen venue, who were cited as the second Respondents and were served at 8.30am.

The Registrar General’s interdict is based on a misconception that we wanted to launch the voters roll, relying on an erroneous article by NEWSDAY published on the 16th of July 2013 which stated that RAU intended to launch a full voters’ roll. Instead of proceeding by way of an application interdicting us from launching our report, it would have taken a simple phone call from the Registrar General’s office to confirm that what we intended to launch was a report based on the Roll and not the Roll itself.

RAU wishes to clarify that it never intended to a launch a voters’ roll. RAU was going to launch an analysis done on the voters roll. In addition to the above, the Chairperson of ZEC and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission are aware that RAU has been working on such an audit and ZEC had received and acknowledged receipt of the preliminary report.

RAU is deeply concerned with the fact that the order for an interdict was granted and the application was admitted and decided yet the Certificate of Urgency, which makes part of the Application was not signed as is required by law.

RAU also finds unprocedural and an abuse of the justice system and court process the fact that we were not served with the application when it was filed with the High Court and that we only received it at the same time as the Order for an Interdict was delivered to RAU.

For years, Zimbabweans have been subjected to a TV monopoly by the state. Mention ZTV, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s television station, and you’re likely to be met with eye rolling, comments like “DeadBC” and even a spoof Twitter account.

Ever since the signal blackout from SABC, things have gotten even worse for Zimbabweans who used to rely on free-to-air decoders to get South African public television.

Lenard Kamwendo was just complaining about the lack of alternative television in Zimbabwe yesterday. And last week, a number of our SMS subscribers were sharing their frustrations with ZBC and wishing there were independent television stations in Zimbabwe.

Enter 1st TV, “Zimbabwe’s first independent television station.” Set to launch at 6pm on Friday 19 July, and available via the Wiztech Free to Air satellite platform, 1st TV will “provide impartial, factual news to the people of Zimbabwe as well as broadcasting popular films, soap operas and comedies.”

According to a press statement issued today, 1st TV “means that Zimbabweans will now have a station that not only broadcasts to them but also will serve as a platform for all people to express their views and to share information about what is happening in their areas and in their lives.”

In addition to being available via satellite, 1st TV says that it will also “have a strong presence on social media which will allow Zimbabweans themselves to influence and guide the growth and direction of the channel in terms of both news and entertainment.”

To find out more, read their full press statement, and follow them on Twitter.

Look familiar?

Zanu PF Election posters – 2013

Election posters 2008

When I first saw the Zanu PF presidential election posters going up, I did a double take. They looked so familiar . . . I was sure I’d seen them before – in Zimbabwe’s June 2008 Presidential Run Off Election.

I looked closer at the poster, and saw the slogan: “This is the final battle for total control of Zimbabwe by Zimbabweans.” Yes, I thought, I’m sure I’ve heard that before.

So I went digging around at some old news coverage, and sure enough, the posters I’ve seen going up around Harare are Exactly The Same Ones as those used by Mugabe in June 2008. Don’t believe me? Check out these stories from Reuters, The Guardian and Getty Images.

Which leaves me wondering:

a)    Did  Zanu PF really have hundreds of election posters left over from June 2008 that they conveniently were able to dust off and put up again in July 2013?

b)    This final battle business. Does this mean the 2013 Harmonised Election is the second final battle? Has the final battle been raging on from 2008-2013, all during the inclusive government? Is 2013 the really final battle? What if there is another presidential run-off? Will that be the really truly final battle, no this time I’m not joking?

The MDC got a lot of flack for the 2005 “Final Push.” To me, Zanu PF’s election poster “Final Battle” redux is just as ridiculous.  But at least it’s given me one of the first good laughs of this election farce.

(Aside: The picture of the 2013 posters was taken in Newlands. The public toilet block at Newlands Shopping Centre was recently painted.  In an effort to keep the walls looking clean and sharp, a notice was put up on all the walls: No Posters – Offenders will be prosecuted. But do you think the City of Harare is going to be prosecuting Zanu PF for disregarding this notice and papering the toilet block with its posters for the 2013 Harmonised Elections? Somehow I doubt it.)

With just 15 days to go until Zimbabwe’s harmonised election 31 July, Kubatana subscribers are sharing their on-the-ground observations and citizen reports. In the words of our subscribers:

Chiredzi North Zanu PF winner for MP primary elections yesterday failed to campaign since he gave everything to women at Buffalo Range. Nothing was given to any male attender there.

Please tell Elliot Pfebve to be serious if the party is to win Bindura North. We haven’t seen him while Zanu PF is busy campaigning. Is he still in UK? Please Pfebve prove that you a strong man.

At the MDC-T rallies, the MDC-T leader should take advantage to counter the utterances by ZANU PF to resuscitate the Zim-dollar currency. The Zim-dollar era still brings sad memories of the hard times we underwent through eg inflation, queues for anything everywhere, shortages of goods, cash,etc. The MDC-T should also be careful to handle the question of devolution of power esp in Matebeleland so as to counter utterances by the Ncube/Dabengwa coalition.

I’m in Mufakose. We are being forced to attend Zanu PF rallies and to know who to vote for.

if the rig we do not want to let them do what they want.if they want to kill,they are going to kill everyone.we are going to street as much as every zimbabwean to oust these frogs.change will rule and this is the time.kana vachifunga kuti vacharambirapo regai mazuva akwane varavire zvatakavagadzirira.tirikunopinda mustate house next month masikati.toita zvekumubvisa isisu povho.hakuna mupuriss kana musoja anokwanisa kucontrolla.it will be unstopable.takatsamwa kudarika ivo.tell every mdct suppoter out there kuti ngatisimuke kana vafunga kupenga tichapenga kuvadarika.kana vachifunga kuti vakapenga regai tivaratidze kunonzi kupenga.tazotsamwa manje.tell everyone that revolution is coming.togeyher we will remove mugabe and his thieves. we are tired of this noncense

Aspiring candidate for Wedza North constituency Engineer Musanhi with his Toyota Hilux is seen mobilising some youths to go and attend and listen the  octagenerian leader who is around the country to lure people to vote for him.But not many are willing to attend bt i can see that maybe in the long run many are going to be forced in a bid to break the record made by the long rival of Mugabe,the Premier Morgan Richard Tsvangirai during the launch of the Party Manifesto in the same town.

I wonder if the Sadac Observers have noted it that many Mdc-T posters in Wedza Centre have been all torn,ask them what they think about that.Is there any fair ground to these elections.Im saying things that even a blind man can see.

The chaos of special voting for Zimbabwe’s 31 July harmonised election continued yesterday, and even into this morning.

Updates from Nehanda Radio suggested voting stretching into the early hours of this morning in some locations, due to delays in the opening of polling stations because voting materials came late.

• 16 July – 01:20 “Still at the polling station at Gweru D.A. only 333 ballots came to add to yesterday’s 107 out of 1700, now cops were threatening to lock in polling officers and were turning rowdy and the district commanding officer had to be called. Polling agents and election officers are just sitting inside awaiting further instructions from ZEC. I think today its Pungwe.” ‪#‎NehandaCitizenReports‬

• 16 July -  01:07 “At Rusununguko Polling station, only 13 were able to cast their votes. 2 regular police details and 2 constabulary members. As I am talking now we are in the ZUPCO bus no ballot papers until now. Female police members crying foul and promised not 2 return 2morrow. A ZANU-PF MP Mr Matangaidze for Shurugwi south intended to give food to the police officers @ around 0100hours but they refused. Ndizvowo here izvi!” ‪#‎NehandaCitizenReports‬

Feedback from our SMS subscribers told a similar story, for example:

• 16 July – 9am – My brother managed to vote this morning at Mabvuku Hall, Harare East
• 15 July – 8:30pm – Voting is too slow in Bindura. At Kambira polling station only 3 people have voted. Most ovters have never seen their envelopes. ZEC is just weak. People are seeing it as a way of delaying voters.
• 15 July – 6pm – Voting yet to start at Mberengwa East polling station.

It’s illegal to place bets on the outcome of the election. But anyone willing to place bets on whether the special voting chaos influences the AU summit on Friday – and gets them to push for a postponement of the election?