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Registrar General's offices derailing registration of potential new voters
Youth Forum
June 27, 2011

A Glen View woman and her friend where last week turned away from the Registrar General's offices after they tried to register as voters. Netsai Manyara and her unidentified friend went to the Registrar General's offices in Harare at Market Square with their national IDs and valid proof of residence as is required by the law but were surprised after they were asked to provide further proof of residence by a woman who works in Room 20 at the offices.

"After receiving several messages from the Youth Forum encouraging me to register as a voter, I took my national ID and proof of residence in the form of a water bill and a written statement from my father that I was a resident at the house. I live at my father's house and the bill reflects my father's surname which is also my surname" said Manyara. "After producing the bill, we were shocked when the lady attending to us said it was not enough and they wanted us to produce some other proof in the form of either a hospital bill or an account statement from one of the large stores like Edgars, Topics or Pelhams."

Such demands from the Registrar are not fair especially with regards to youths as most of them cannot afford to open the accounts with the shops. It is also a public secret that most youths cannot afford to pay for the health services which have spiraled beyond the reach of many through the government's anti-people policies. Having celebrated the Day of the African Child a week ago whose theme looked at the plight of street children, it is difficult how such demands will allow them to vote when they are of no fixed aboard.

Such demands are also illegal as the Electoral Act defines "proof of residence" in section 4 (1) (e) as "a sworn written statement by a property owner on whose property the voter or claimant resides" while section 4 (1) (d) allows "any other satisfactory documentary evidence reasonably establishing the place of residence of the voter or claimant". From the definitions, the bills and letters that Manyara and her friend produced are more than relevant for the purposes. It is clear that the Registrar General's office is trying to derail the registration of new and young voters for reasons that are clear only to themselves.

The Youth Forum is currently looking into the matter in a bid to help the youths and the Registrar General's offices to come to an understanding that will see more youths registering without much hindrance. Netsai Manyara and her friend are amongst some of the beneficiaries of the Youth Forum's "Youth Go Register and Vote" campaign that seeks to add 1,000,000 (1 Million) new young voters to the voter's roll before the next election. This is part of the organizations broad vision and mission of seeing young people empowered through participation in all processes of relevance and decision-making.

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