KEY POINTS

• Zimbabwe’s electoral commission has launched ZECBOT, an AI-powered chatbot for voter education.

• The platform provides information on voting procedures, election dates and polling station details, with multilingual capabilities.

• Information Minister Zhemu Soda warned that digital voter education must not exclude citizens without internet access or digital skills.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has launched a digital chatbot to make electoral information more accessible to voters and provide answers to questions about the country’s election processes.

The platform, known as ZECBOT, was unveiled in Harare on Thursday, November 12, as part of the commission’s efforts to expand voter education through artificial intelligence and digital technology.

The chatbot is designed to provide information on voting procedures, election dates and polling station details. It will complement existing voter education channels and give members of the public another way to obtain information about elections.

ZECBOT to Provide Electoral Information

The new platform allows voters to interact with an automated system to seek guidance on different aspects of the electoral process.

ZEC Chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba said the chatbot has multilingual capabilities that could help reduce language barriers and improve access to electoral information.

The commission also emphasised that ZECBOT should be treated as a source of guided and verified information, rather than its only official communication channel.

ZEC Chief Elections Officer Dr S. Tongayi said artificial intelligence was intended to support, not replace, human interaction in electoral processes.

The launch marks another step in ZEC’s use of digital tools to improve communication with voters and strengthen public access to election-related information.

Minister Warns Against Digital Exclusion

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Dr Zhemu Soda, urged the commission to ensure that the new technology does not exclude citizens who lack internet access, electricity, digital devices or the skills needed to use online platforms.

Speaking at the launch, Soda said digital voter education must remain part of a wider strategy that also reaches people through traditional communication channels.

He called for greater collaboration between government ministries, regulators, private-sector technology partners and civil society organisations to expand internet connectivity and improve digital literacy.

The minister also warned about the risks associated with the use of artificial intelligence, including cybersecurity threats, data privacy concerns and the spread of misleading information through manipulated content such as deepfakes.

He said technological innovation must be accompanied by appropriate safeguards to ensure it strengthens public confidence rather than undermining it.

Chatbot to Support Wider Voter Education

ZEC’s launch is also intended to make electoral information easier to access, particularly for voters who prefer interactive digital services.

However, the commission’s position is that the chatbot will complement, rather than replace, its existing communication and voter education programmes.

The initiative comes as election management bodies increasingly explore the use of digital technology to improve public engagement and provide timely information to voters.

For Zimbabwe, the success of ZECBOT will depend partly on ensuring that people without reliable internet access can still obtain accurate information about the electoral process.