ZESN Report Launch: Voters Roll Observation Report
The Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network launched an observation report on the voters roll. In April 2010, ZESN undertook an audit to assess the quality of Zimbabwe’s Voter’s Roll. The research project sought to test the accuracy and completeness of the voter’s roll and to make recommendations for a cleanup of the voters roll.
In his remarks during the launch, Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network Tinoziva Bere said:
The people of this country and everybody concerned about the Voter’s Roll ought to have access to it, freely and easily. And any exercise in improving it or cleaning it, ought to be done publicly.
Observation of the Voter’s Roll was conducted using three tests: a computer test, a list to people field test and a people to list test. A systematic analysis of data obtained from these tests provides critical information about the quality of the voters than can inform efforts to improve the voter registration in Zimbabwe. Among the findings in the report were the following;
- The list to people test revealed that 41% of registered voters were no longer residing at the address on the voter’s roll.
- 97% of respondents have not transferred to reflect the change in residential address against the 3% who had transferred to new wards.
- More males (52%) were registered compared to females, who constituted 48% of the registered population. Population statistics for Zimbabwe indicate that women constitute 52% of the population. - The computer test shows that only 18% of those registered to vote are youths aged between 18 and 30.
Among the recommendations ZESN makes to government and the Zimbabwe Electoral commission are the following:
- Increase the transparency of the voter registration process such as deletion from the voter’s roll as the process is currently out of public scrutiny and the criteria for deletion is left to the Constituency Registrars
- Voter education drives to inform citizens on the procedures for registration, transferring, objections, making claims and deletion of dead voters
- Continuous maintenance of the Voter’s Roll is important to ensure that voters that have become ineligible to vote, for example by death, are removed in order to prevent over inflating the voter’s roll - Voter registration must in it’s entirety be integrated into one office of ZEC and ZEC should have total control of voter registration and maintenance of the voter’s roll to ensure greater accountability for it’s state
- Prioritise young people in the issuance of the national identity card to increase the numbers of young people who register as voters
In closing the launch, Jestina Mukoko of the Zimbabwe Peace Project said:
“I hope the media will note that ZESN has opted not to refer to the voter’s roll as being in a shambles but that they want to critically look at the various issues.”