On August 23, 2023, Zimbabweans will go to the polls to vote for the president of the country and members of the parliament (MPs). Of the 11 candidates currently running for president, there are two clear frontrunners: President Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Unity-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party, and Nelson Chamisa of the main opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).

Human Rights Watch spent two weeks in Zimbabwe in April and May 2023. Twenty-eight (28) people were interviewed, including representatives from the main opposition party, election observer groups, lawyers, human rights activists, and ordinary citizens. These people provided first-hand accounts on electoral conditions in the country ahead of the August 23, 2023, elections.

Human Rights Watch’s research found that rights critical for Zimbabwe’s election, such as to freedom of expression, association, and assembly, are imperiled. Violence, intimidation, harassment, and repression linked to ZANU-PF and aimed principally at CCC members and civil society activists have restricted civic and political space. The environment for a credible, free, and fair election has been grossly diminished.

Cases of abductions, arbitrary arrests of political opposition figures, critics of the government, and other human rights abuses by ZANU-PF supporters and state security officials have operated to advance ZANU-PF’s electoral interests.

The authorities have weaponized the criminal justice system against the ruling party’s political opponents. CCC politicians have been held in prolonged pre-trial detention or convicted on baseless, seemingly politically motivated charges.

Further, the Zimbabwean authorities have greatly limited the space for opposition parties to campaign. Through various means, they have restricted the rights to freedom of expression, movement, and association, leaving the opposition unable to stage rallies, mobilize, campaign, and associate with supporters. ZANU-PF has ensured that the playing field is skewed, with the Zimbabwe Republic Police persistently refusing to issue permits to the opposition to hold campaign rallies while allowing ZANU-PF to meet without hindrance.

The actions against CCC members and supporters by government authorities contravene basic rights guaranteed under the Constitution of Zimbabwe. They also violate rights to freedom of expression, movement, association, and peaceful assembly protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and other international human rights treaties to which Zimbabwe is a party.

Report by the Human Rights Watch