The State has withdrawn charges against 39 Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) and the Elections Resource Centre (ERC) staff members who were arrested on 23 August 202023 for allegedly violating provisions of the Electoral Act.
In a statement issued this Thursday, 30 May, ZESN said the charges have been withdrawn due to lack of evidence. It said:
The charges against ZESN and ERC Staff and volunteers arrested on 23 August 2023 for purportedly attempting to announce the results of the 2023 Harmonised General elections have been withdrawn due to lack of evidence.
According to a statement issued by Zimbabwe Republic Police on 25 August 2023, the ZESN and ERC workers were arrested for disrupting the electoral process. The ZRP said at the time:
The Zimbabwe Republic Police, on 23rd August 2023, arrested 36 suspects following a raid at various safe houses and hotel rooms set up by certain individuals and civic organizations, including the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), Election Resource Centre(ERC) and Team Pachedu, for subversive intentions.
The arrest followed a tip-off that the said persons had set up bases and gathered equipment to use for tabulating voting statistics with the intention of unlawfully announcing election results and transmitting same to foreign country for unknown reasons.
The coordinators of the information were hiding at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Harare and were in the process of feeding information to a location in The Grange, Harare, where the Presidential Election results were to be have been announced using a VPN System through a so-called “Apollo” concept.
The results were to be announced on 24th August 2023 at the instigation of the Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC). This action was meant to preempt the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), which is the sole constitutionally obligated board to announce election results.
The arrested persons are currently in Police custody. As the Zimbabwe Republic Police, we do not regret arresting people who engage in criminal and unlawful activities but in the spirit of promoting national harmony during our election season, the State will not oppose bail.
