Fredrick Moyo
Election Resource Centre (ERC) and Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) have called for Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to release detailed statistics on the first phase of voter registration blitz and also provide an accurate list of registration centres in advance.
In a statement, ERC and ZESN said they monitored the first phase of the blitz and will do so in the second phase in a move to ensure the BVR blitz is transparent, inclusive and accountable as well as following regional and international best practices.
“ERC and ZESN call upon the ZEC to release detailed statistics on phase 1 of the voter registration blitz, that include number of individuals registered per day per registration centre broken down by gender and including the number of persons with disabilities.
“This information should be readily available; such information is routinely provided by credible Elections Management Bodies (EMBs); and doing so in line with the best principles of open election data,” read part of the statement.
They went on to say that without this information people cannot see if the blitz meet their expectations and also urged ZEC to provide clear and accurate information about the upcoming second voter registration blitz.
“Without this information, Zimbabweans cannot determine for themselves if phase 1 of the voter registration blitz has met their expectations or whether additional opportunities are needed to ensure all eligible Zimbabweans have a meaningful opportunity to newly register or update their registration information.
“ERC and ZESN make the following recommendations for phase two: provide an accurate list of registration centres and dates well in advance of phase 2 so voters, political parties, civic organisations and observers can effectively participate in the process and beyond these recommendations, voter education is also urgently needed to make it clear to Zimbabweans that they do not only have until 30 April 2022 to register to vote,” added part of the joint statement.
ZEC will carry out another voter registration exercise that will run from April 10-30, 2022, in a bid to help those in marginalized communities to register to vote as they will be visiting each constituency and ward.
