Beverly Bizeki
Masvingo Province recorded 48 176 new voter registrants in 2022 making an 82 percent total voter population according to statistics released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) office recently.
ZEC Deputy Elections Officer Maxwell Ncube confirmed the information and said the number had increased from the 439 recorded in 2021.
“It is pleasing to note that the number of new voter registrants increased to 48 176 in 2022 from the 439 recorded in 2021,” said Ncube.
He also said the trend shows an increase in registration numbers as elections approach.
“The trend shows an increase in new voter registrants every month owing to stakeholder participation in encouraging people to register to vote.
“We however urge people to keep registering to vote,” he added.
The increase in numbers is likely owed to the lift in Covid-19 induced lockdowns and restrictions in movement and continuous voter education as well as outreach programmes.
According to ZIMSTATS results published in 2022, the province has 791 938 adults giving a total of 82 percent registered voters showing also an increase from the 79 percent recorded during the previous elections.
The 18 percent that remains unregistered according to census results then becomes 140 000.
In December 2022, the province had 5 467 new voter registrants 2 960 of which were women while 2 507 were men.
The province also recorded 1 331 transfers, 660 are women while 671 are men.
