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Voter registration
Grant Masterson
Extracted from the EISA Election Newsletter No. 19
March 08, 2005

Introduction
Voter registration is a means of verifying those persons who are eligible to vote in an election. The eligibility of a person to vote is often a crucial issues in any election, and in Zimbabwe, this is no exception. The majority of the legislation relating to voter registration is handled by the Electoral Act (2004), with brief references to voter eligibility in the Zimbabwe Constitution (1979). 5 Sections (Part IV - Part VIII)¹ devoted to voter registration in the Electoral Act is a good illustration of the importance this issue in the electoral process. Although an exhaustive discussion of Zimbabwe's voter registration process is not possible here, the following issues touch on some of the key aspects of the country's voter registration process.

Voter registration qualification
A person is eligible to register as a voter in Zimbabwe if they qualify for a proof of identity document in terms of the National Registration Act (1973)² , and can provide proof of residence in Zimbabwe. All applications for voter registration are currently handled by the Registrar-General's office, with local constituency offices assisting voter registration in specific constituencies. New legislation places the Office of the Registrar under the authority of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, yet in practice, the Registrar continues to be staffed by civil servants in the employ of the Zimbabwean government, and some reports indicate a lack of faith in the independence of the renovated institution amongst Zimbabwe's civil society³.

In order to register, a claimant must usually apply for registration in the constituency in which he/she is a resident, however if this is not possible, then the claimant must provide satisfactory proof of residence in the constituency in which he/she intends to vote to the Registrar-General, as well as a satisfactory reason why he/she wishes to vote in a constituency in which he/she is not a resident. The Electoral Act states that a reason is considered satisfactory if it is due to "place of origin, political affiliations or otherwise"⁴ . The ambiguity of this statement allows for a fairly broad interpretation of satisfactory reasons for such an application. At present, the Electoral Act does not make provision for Zimbabwean citizens living outside of Zimbabwe to vote in an election.

Voter's roll
Once a claimant is successfully registered as a voter in a particular constituency, he/she is not permitted to vote in any other constituency unless an application of amendment is submitted to the Registrar-General, which essentially entails re-application in a different constituency⁵ . In order to ensure that a person is registered in a particular constituency, a voter's roll is maintained for all constituencies, and a consolidated national voter's roll is also maintained. A person can be removed from the voter's roll if they are a resident in an alternative constituency for longer than 12 months. A person can be struck off the voter's roll without prior notice, and it is the responsibility of the voter to ensure that they are presently on the voters roll⁶ . The roll is constantly updated, and is maintained on a rolling basis. However, the Electoral Act does afford the President the privilege of calling for a completely new voter registration process, which would thereby nullify the existing roll and pave the way for the creation of a new voter's roll.

In the 2001 elections, concerns were raised over the existence of voters on the role who had since become deceased. The registrar-general removes all voters from the role for which death certificates have been issued. However, some observers are concerned that not all deaths are being certified, and that a number of deceased voters have remained on the roll⁷ . An independent audit conducted on the voter's roll recently extrapolated that of the 5,6 million voters presently on the roll, more than 2 million may be suspect. The audit claims that there are potentially 800,000 dead people still registered, 300,000 duplicate names on the roll and potentially 900,000 people on the roll who no longer reside at their official residence⁸ . The Movement for Democratic Change has launched an urgent High Court

Petition to stop police from interfering with their own investigation into the voter's roll, alleging that subsequent to the completion of the voter's roll verification, details of some voters are being tampered with⁹ .

Voter registration disputes
The Electoral Act provides two separate mechanisms for resolving voter registration disputes. In the event that the Registrar-General believes a voter registration should be revoked, and provided that it is not between the period of the declaration of an election and the closing of polls, the Registrar-General shall give notice of the reason and grounds for the objection and make these publicly available. This process is subject to appeal. If a voter wishes to dispute a name(s) on the voter's roll, he/she must first submit an application to the constituency registrar-general, who must subsequently convene a hearing to discuss the complaint. If the matter is not satisfactorily resolved at this level, the applicant can take his/her case to the local magistrate. If this is not resolved, the applicant's final court of appeal is the High Court, where a judge will rule in chambers on the application.

Conclusion
Zimbabwe's system of constituency voter registration allows for the roll to be continuously updated, revised and consolidated. The voter's roll is closed on the announcement of the date of general elections, and is not subject to revisions again until the election is deemed concluded. The majority of critical analysis regarding voter registration tends to focus on the application of the legislation rather than its substance. The process of removals from the roll, although well defined by the Electoral Act has been criticised for not adequately ensuring that the voter's roll is current and up-to-date, and questions remain around the accuracy of the voters roll. The importance of a reliable voter's roll is essential to conducting credible and accurate elections. In this regard, the accuracy and credibility of the Zimbabwean voter's roll remains a controversial issue.

1. The Electoral Act 2004. Zimbabwe Act of Parliament. 2004.
2. The National Registration Act. Zimbabwe Act of Parliament. 1973.
3. Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network. Preliminary Report: March 2005 Parliamentary Elections. ZESN. 2005. P. 10-11.
4. Op. Cit. Part V. Section 20:1. 2004.
5. Op. Cit. Part VI. Section 22: 1, 2 & 3. 2004.
6.Op. Cit. Part VI. Section 22:4. 2004. Also see Voter Registration Disputes.
7. ZESN. Op. Cit. P. 15.
8.FreeZim Support Group. Voter's roll Audit: Preliminary Roll - 2005 General Elections (Advance Copy). 2005. P. 5.
9. NewZimbabwe.Com. MDC Petitions High Court over Voter Tampering. 15 February 2005. http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/electoral68.12266.html

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