The GoVote campaign is a harmonization of various voter mobilization campaigns being implemented by CiZC members. The campaign will seek to mobilize registered voters to turn out in large numbers on voting day (July 31, 2018) while putting in place mechanisms that will empower ordinary citizens to monitor the credibility of the upcoming polls.
Mobilizing Zimbabweans to defend their vote is also one critical component of the GoVote campaign.
The campaign will be informed by information from CiZC members as well as ordinary people around the country. As part of efforts to push the international community to demand credible polls in Zimbabwe, organizations present during the launch o the GoVote campaign resolved to hold periodic briefings with various observer missions.
The periodic meetings will be used to communicate civil society’s findings and position with regards to the freeness, fairness and credibility of the July 2018 polls to various observer missions and other key stakeholders.
Civil society leaders present during the coordinating meeting concurred that it was critical for CSOs to create synergies with various electoral stakeholders as a way of complementing
efforts towards credible polls.
Various electoral irregularities threatening the credibility of the upcoming elections were noted during the meeting and these included the reluctance by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to release the voters’ roll, intimidation and deployment of the army especially in rural areas, the militarization of ZEC as well as partisan distribution of food aid among other irregularities.
As part of the recommendations, the CSOs also resolved to produce a civil society paper on the 2018 elections. The position paper will articulate civil society concerns and demands ahead of the 2018 elections and will be shared with various stakeholders including observer missions. Regular press briefings will also be used to disseminate information on civil society’s position regarding the 2018 polls
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