Civil society organisations (CSOs) this week slammed conditions that prevailed during the run-up to next week’s polls, stating that the odds were against opposition parties from the start.

They said the playing field was uneven to the extent that they witnessed incidences where victims of political violence reported to authorities, but perpetrators were still walking scot free.

The run-up to next week’s polls was also overshadowed by a flood of court challenges from scores of aggrieved candidates and political parties, including former Zanu PF political commissar, Saviour Kasukuwere, whose plan to challenge President Emmerson Mnangagwa flopped at the Supreme Court last week.

Douglas Mwonzora’s MDC was among the first to resort to legal action after he approached the High Court over alleged flaws in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec)’s  delimitation exercise.

He pulled out of the presidential race last week, describing the whole process as a “farce”.

Following the Nomination Court’s seating on June 21, 12 Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) candidates were barred from participating in parliamentary elections after filing their papers late.

The Supreme Court overturned the ruling.

The CCC also filed several court challenges to compel Zec to release the voters’ roll, which CSOs said had not been released a week before the elections.

Elisabeth Valerio, a female presidential aspirant, who leads the United Zimbabwe Alliance had to go to the courts for reinstatement after being disqualified by Zec, while the CCC complained that many of its rallies have been blocked by the police.

In contrast, Mnangagwa’s ruling Zanu PF held its rallies uninterrupted countrywide, giving it an edge over the opposition.

In interviews with the Zimbabwe Independent, CSOs said the legal logjam demonstrated the hurdles that opposition parties encountered.

“This is one of the worst run election processes since independence,” Peter Mutasa, president of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, said.

“It can only come closer to the 2008 presidential run-off in which Mugabe (Zimbabwe’s first president who died in 2019) contested alone. It is a sham.

“A few days before elections the opposition does not have a voters’ roll. Violence against the opposition is heightening. State institutions are captured and biased in favour of the ruling party.”

Worries of the alleged capture of state institutions by the ruling party have been rife.

But CSOs, who usually raise issues against rights violations, have been quiet, fearing a backlash since a new law administering their operations set tough licencing conditions.

Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum acting executive director Wilbert Mandinde said the quality of elections in Zimbabwe was compromised.

“The point about elections is not to religiously hold them as and when they are due, but it relates to the quality of election that we get as a country,” Mandinde said. “What we noticed is that the electoral environment on the ground has not been conducive for the holding of free and fair elections.”

He cited the recent death of a CCC supporter after he was allegedly stoned by Zanu PF supporters in Harare.

“We saw this happening in Kwekwe last year as we headed to the March 2022 (by) elections. Surely any one life lost is one life too much,” he said.

“We have not heard any condemnation about this apparent killing coming from the government and the President unless I missed it.”

He said it was difficult to expect a credible election considering the prevailing environment.

“Elections are credible if the environment is conducive for the holding of free and fair elections. But we have seen several times the opposition being denied the opportunity to campaign freely,” Mandinde said. “We are worried about the issue of media coverage. We have not seen state media being impartial or giving equal coverage to all political parties.”

He alleged that victims of political violence had been arrested, instead of perpetrators.

“They go to report to the police and they are arrested.”

According to Human Rights Watch, Zimbabwean authorities have not taken steps to ensure that the general elections meet international standards.