Mildred Muchenje, 26, was anxious as she approached the long, winding queue at her polling station in Warren Park, Harare, on 23 August. She was about to cast her vote for only the second time ever, in the Zimbabwean presidential elections. She had expected it to be a breeze, like it was in 2018. It wasn’t. She was told voting was yet to start because there were no ballot papers. What she didn’t know at the time, however, was this was the beginning of a more than 12-hour wait.
“I recently relocated, so voting for me meant travelling to the polling station,” Muchenje told openDemocracy. “When I went there early I was told there were no ballot papers. I wanted to vote and return home but I ended up sleeping in Warren Park.”
The elections were marred by voter intimidation, rigging and vote buying but observers say ballot delays were the main culprit in ensuring they were not free and fair.
