Factsheet: Zimbabwe poll fees among highest in Africa

Zimbabwe’s election fees for presidential, parliamentary and council candidates are among the highest in Africa, with nominations charges for running for the country’s highest executive post topping those of several African states.

In Statutory Instrument (SI)144 of 2022 published by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) in August this year,  with approval of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, the national election management body hiked the nomination fees for presidential candidates by staggering 1,900 percent.

The following tables show Zimbabwe’s new nomination fees, and those of a number of African countries.

Nomination fees for Presidential Candidate

CountryCategoryAmount (USD)
Zimbabweall20,000
   
ZambiaMale5,873
 Female4,636
 Youths3,709
 Persons with Disabilities3,709
   
KenyaAll1,666
   
MalawiMale1,945
 Female973
 Persons with Disabilities833
   
NamibiaIndependent Candidate670
 Political Party Candidate134
   
South Africa 0
Botswana 0

Nomination fee for Member of Parliament or Equivalent

CountryCategoryAmount (USD)
ZimbabweAll1,000
   
ZambiaMale927
 Female835
 Youths618
 Persons with Disabilities618
   
MalawiMale486
 Youths365
 Female243
 Persons with Disabilities243
   
KenyaMale167
 Female, Youths, Persons with Disabilities83
BotswanaAll39
South AfricaAll31

Nomination fees for Local Councillor

For Local Councillors, South Africa ranks highest in the selected African countries followed by Zambia, Kenya, Malawi, Botswana and other countries which do not require nomination fee for this position, including Zimbabwe.

CountryCategoryAmount (USD)
South Africa 125
ZambiaMale93
 Female62
 Youths62
 Persons with Disabilities62
   
KenyaAll42
   
MalawiMale39
 Youths29
 Persons with Disabilities19
 Female19
   
Botswana 8
Zimbabwe 0
Namibia 0

References

https://veritaszim.net/node/5851

https://zec.org.zw/download/nomination-court-requirements/

https://www.elections.org.zm/2021/05/06/nomination-fees-are-paid-by-aspiring-candidates-before-their-nomination-can-be-accepted-by-the-commission-the-fees-are-set-against-each-category-of-elections-and-offer-specified-rates-for-males-fema/

https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/politics/article/2001436251/uda-slashes-nomination-fees-for-women

https://www.iebc.or.ke/electionlaws/?Gazette_Notices

https://mec.org.mw/

Factsheet compiled by Dylan Dzenga, an intern at ZimFact and member of a fact-checking club at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare.

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