BLESSING MBALAKA
Zimbabwe’s election date has not yet been confirmed, but it is anticipated to take place from the 23 July 2023 by the International Foundation for Electoral systems.
As all elections are, they can be polarising, and in the case of Zimbabwe, the current president of Zimbabwe and Zanu-PF Emmerson Mnangagwa, will be facing, among others, opposition parties which include Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) led by Nelson Chamisa and Douglas Mwonzora’s MDC.
This election has been heavily anticipated following the rumoured election rigging in the 2018 general elections.
Without concrete evidence, this assumption of election rigging is merely a conspiracy theory, but Nelson Chamisa remains adamant that the election was stolen.
This concern has led to Nelson Chamisa’s close monitoring of the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission (ZEC), demanding that they report daily on the outcomes.
Further evidence of this election tempering can be found from the analysis by the online watchdog “Pachedu”.
The findings from Pachedu are indicative of foul play.
Pachedu analysed that more than 170 000 voters had been reallocated to different constituencies.
Further evidence of this tempering was found when Pachedu found gross irregularities in 156 polling stations.
On this theme of foul play, it is important to monitor and ensure that elections are not tampered with.
There is a small body of literature that has conceptualised the idea of adopting blockchain-based technologies for e-voting.
Blockchain technology and its tamper-proof nature could potentially become a way to authenticate votes and circumvent election tempering.
This techno-centred approach aligns with Zimbabwe’s world bank country manager, Mukami Kariuki’s vision of integrating digital infrastructure and technology within the Zimbabwean economy. But the dilemma emerges when we regard Chamisa’s concerns and the findings by Pachedu.
If the Zimbabwean government did unfairly rig the 2018 general elections, then it could be likely that they may be hesitant to adopt such an innovation.
Maybe it is not best to be so pessimistic because there have been some signs of good leadership from the current president, and there could be a chance that he could be willing to embrace new technologies.
It is unlikely that this will occur during the 2023 elections.
Still, this digitisation of elections could culminate from the new capital city’s ‘cyber city’ project and its welcoming of new technologies.
This new capital city is being built by the Arab Emirates-based conglomerate Mulk International.
The new city, according to Mnangagwa, intends to build the smartest city in the region.
But one cannot definitively say that Mnangagwa would be accepting of the technology that could threaten his regime.
If Mnangagwa survives these forthcoming elections, and these continued allegations of election tampering persist, the public might begin to call for innovation, such as through the adoption of blockchain-based e-voting.
If Mnangagwa remains hesitant, in this hypothetical future, then public uproar will become key in pressurising the government into innovation.
Unless resolved by an immutable and verifiable technology, the circulating accusations of election rigging could lead to continued distrust of the legitimacy of the Zimbabwean elections.
However, from the slim chance that this technology is adopted, a dilemma still lingers, and that is the practicality of this technology.
Thus, the transition must be gradual to ensure that there are established, research-informed frameworks put in place to address the issues that can surface from adopting blockchain-based e-voting.
The Zimbabwean state is in a crisis of legitimacy, and the incorporation of blockchain-based e-voting could help to strengthen the validity of the voting process.
The likelihood of early adoption is slim, but if further accusations of election rigging persist, the public may demand for technological solutions, such as the above-noted blockchain-based e-voting system.
Blessing Mbalaka is a junior researcher, Digital Africa Unit, Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation at the University of Johannesburg.
Daily News