Zimbabwe Peace Project
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) monitored the by-elections held on 14 June 2025 in
two National Assembly constituencies: Gutu East and Insiza North, and two Rural District
Council (RDC) wards, Chipinge Ward 5 and Binga Ward 4. The by-election in Insiza was
due to the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Farai Taruvinga who has served as
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Chipinge became vacant as a result of the death of Councilor Alderman Phibeon
Machuwaire. In Gutu East, ZANU PF recalled and expelled Benjamin Ganyiwa leading to
the vacant seat. The councillor for Ward 4 in Binga who was under the CCC Political
party resigned. Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) won all
the four by-elections that were held on the 14th of June.
ZPP documented 12 human rights violations in Chipinge RDC Ward 5, affecting 1500
people and 2 violations affecting 87 people in Gutu East. No violations were recorded by
the human rights monitors in Binga RDC Ward 4 and Insiza North Constituency.
Cumulatively, ZPP documented a total of 14 violations in the four by-elections, which
affected a total of 1587 victims. During the monitoring process, ZPP monitors collected
victim and witness accounts of these violations. The violations were monitored and
documented through ZPP’s network of human rights monitors who collect firsthand
accounts of the human rights violations.
In the pre-election and voting periods, ZPP documented human rights violations that not
only contravened the Electoral Act but also breached fundamental constitutional rights.
These included cases of political intimidation, harassment, forced assisted voting and
intra-party violence, particularly in Gutu East and Chipinge Ward 5. In Gutu,Village
heads and traditional leaders, who, by law, are not supposed to be partisan, were actively
involved in partisan mobilization and intimidation of voters. In Gutu South, ruling party
political activists stationed near polling stations issued threats, recorded voter details, and
created an environment of coercion and fear. The use of traditional leaders to threaten
and discipline communities that supported opposition parties violated the Traditional
Leaders Act and the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Section 67 of the Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to free and fair elections,
the freedom to form and join political parties, and to vote and campaign freely. These
rights were violated during the by-elections. Communities in affected constituencies
were subjected to overt threats of violence, forced political allegiance, and exclusion
from access to public services.
The manipulation of state and traditional structures to influence electoral outcomes
reflects an entrenched culture of impunity. ZPP calls on relevant authorities, civil society,
and regional observers to collaborate and ensure that there is peaceful co-existence
between people of different political persuasions, to ensure that human rights are not
violated and to ensure that there is an atmosphere that promotes free participation of
citizens in all electoral processes.
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