Allegations were made in 2011, that a third of registered voters were dead or aged 120 (in a country with a life expectancy of 44).[21] These accusations were repeated in 2013, with the additional claim that a considerable number of young voters had not been registered.[22] The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), a local observer group with 7,000 monitors, listed a litany of offences, including state media bias, a campaign of intimidation in rural areas, and the rushed electoral process before key reforms to the security services were in place. But the most effective measure was tampering with the electoral rolls. Held back until the day before the election – thus avoiding proper scrutiny – the roll revealed an estimated one million invalid names, including many deceased voters. And it excluded up to one million real ones, mostly in urban areas where the MDC support is strongest.[23]
On the day of the elections, one of Zimbabwe's electoral commissioners resigned. In his resignation letter, Mkhululi Nyathi of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission wrote, "I do not wish to enumerate the many reasons of my resignation, but they all have to do with the manner the Zimbabwe 2013 harmonised elections were proclaimed and conducted".[24]
The Electoral Commission later reported that approximately 305,000 voters were turned away from polls, with an additional 207,000 voters being "assisted" on casting their ballots.[25] There were also more than 100,000 centenarian ghost voters on the electoral roll.[26]
On 9 August 2013, the Movement for Democratic Change, sought to have the results declared null and void. If their petition is rejected then Mugabe must be sworn in within 48 hours. [27] A week later they withdrew their petition. [28] Despite their withdrawal the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe ruled that the election was "free, fair and credible".
