Casting Votes, Missing Knowledge, Zimbabwe’s Electoral Blind Spot

By Shingirai Vambe

In Zimbabwe, elections come every five years with a consistent sense of anticipation, confusion, and in many cases, disillusionment. For millions of citizens, the question remains: Who should we vote for, and why? The act of voting, though considered a pillar of democracy, has become a ritual detached from critical analysis of individual candidates and their capabilities. Instead, Zimbabweans largely vote along entrenched party lines, a practice deeply rooted in decades of political loyalty, historical symbolism, and limited voter education.

Since the country’s independence in 1980, Zimbabwe has largely remained under the leadership of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF), a party that is credited with spearheading the liberation struggle. The opposition, once led by the late Morgan Tsvangirai and now by Nelson Chamisa under different formations, has also enjoyed significant support in recent years, often garnering millions of votes despite limited access to state resources. In the 2018 harmonized elections, Chamisa himself managed to attract more than two million votes, a figure that reflects deep public yearning for change but also a troubling reality: votes are cast more for party colours than for competence.

Former Norton legislator, Temba Mliswa, has been vocal on the issue of representation in Parliament. Speaking to The Post On Sunday, Mliswa lamented the poor calibre of legislators who are often ill-equipped to interpret laws or understand the national constitution. “Zimbabweans claim to have high literacy,” he said, “but they are not learned. They continue to elect people who lack capacity and are unable to fulfill the basic legislative and oversight roles expected of a Member of Parliament.”

This reality is echoed by former Makoni Central MP, David Tekeshe, a man known across Manicaland Province for his philanthropy and consistent support to vulnerable groups, including elderly care homes. Tekeshe has been at the receiving end of regretful sentiments from his former constituents who say they voted for his successor, Patrick Sagandira of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), based solely on party loyalty rather than performance.

“There’s a serious lack of voter education in Zimbabwe,” said Tekeshe. “People do not understand the role of a legislator. They think Members of Parliament are responsible for constructing roads, schools and clinics. These are roles that fall under the executive arm of government. MPs are lawmakers and are supposed to provide oversight and represent the people’s interests in Parliament.”

This misunderstanding creates a fertile ground for manipulation. Every election cycle, political candidates, regardless of party, rush to rural constituencies bearing food hampers, drilling boreholes, and making school donations. These gestures, often funded through public money or donations intended for the public good, are paraded as personal generosity and used as bait to secure votes. The practice, Tekeshe added, reduces the electorate to consumers of short-term handouts, rather than stakeholders in a democratic process that should hold leaders accountable.

In many cases, voters in rural areas see elections as an opportunity to receive goods and services that they were already entitled to as citizens. They are not voting based on policies, legislative agendas, or the character and competency of the candidate. Instead, a bag of mealie-meal or a packet of sugar becomes the deciding factor, an unfortunate result of poverty, disinformation, and years of political indoctrination.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and civil society organizations have made attempts to educate voters, but these efforts remain sporadic and often lack the reach necessary to effect real behavioral change. Meanwhile, the cost of voter ignorance continues to show in Parliament, where some legislators are said to struggle with basic comprehension of legal texts, parliamentary procedures, and the very constitution they are sworn to uphold.

The consequences of such voter behavior are long-term and structural. When MPs enter Parliament without a clear grasp of their roles, they fail to provide proper oversight, ask the necessary questions, or push for development policies that benefit their constituencies. In the end, it is the voter who suffers—a voter who may not even realize their MP has failed them until the next election cycle, when promises and food packages return.

The above mentioned behavior of vote buying is a criminal offence under the electoral Act, as a result of state capture, use of state machinery, not one record of arrest or barring and or disqualifying aspiring candidates for abusing the electorate.

To date, Tekeshe who served in the Parliamentary Committee of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare, advocating for persons with disabilities and the vulnerable, still receive calls from the constituency seeking help and assistance in the form of medical bills, funeral assistance and food.

The Election Resource Centre (ERC) told the Post that voter education is a constitutionally mandated activity which ought to be ongoing throughout the year.

“While ERC acknowledges the efforts of the Commission, especially in recent times to increase voter education efforts, the efforts unfortunately still fall short to address the genuine needs of the populace. ZEC should make concerted efforts to partner with CSOs to carry out voter education,” said ERC.

“Voter education is crucial because too many Zimbabweans, especially youth and marginalized communities, are disengaged or misinformed about the voting process. With only about 70% of adults registered to vote and turnout declining, continued decline risks weakening our democracy. Through voter education campaigns, the aim is to raise awareness and break down barriers to participation. A strong democracy depends on informed, active voters,” added ERC.

For Zimbabwe’s democracy to evolve into a system that truly serves its people, there must be a deliberate, sustained effort to promote civic education at every level. Schools, churches, media outlets, and political parties all have a role to play in shifting public understanding from passive loyalty to informed choice. Political leaders must also be honest about their responsibilities and stop misleading voters with promises outside their mandate.

Until then, Zimbabwe’s electoral process will remain a quagmire, a cycle of loyalty without accountability, voting without understanding, and representation without competence.

In Zimbabwe, voter education is the missing bridge between democracy and the people. After every election, the country is plunged into controversy, claims of vote-rigging, shadowy tactics, and allegations of abuse of state institutions dominate headlines. Yet few ask the most fundamental question, did the people understand the process they were participating in?

For years, the issue has lurked in the background, overshadowed by high-level political drama. But voter education, the simple act of informing citizens how, where, and why to vote, is not just a technical detail. It is the heartbeat of a credible election. It’s no surprise, then, that confusion, disinformation, and voter apathy remain widespread. ZEC has been tasked with managing the process, but its role, alongside those of civil society organizations, remains misunderstood, and often, intentionally limited.