At  the  end  of  the  BVR  blitz  on  8  February  2018,  Bulawayo  retained  the  lowest  voter  registration,   with  58.8%  -­‐  the  only  province  with  less  than  a  60%  registration  -­‐  followed  by  Harare  with  62.3%.   Matabeleland  South  and  Mashonaland  Central  were  the  only  other  provinces  to  fail  to  reach  a  70%   or  more  registration  turnout.  The  three  Matabeleland  provinces  combined,  total  fewer  than   800,000  registered  voters.       The  total  registered  number,  with  some  outlying  centres  still  to  report  back  to  ZEC,  was  5,264,674.   This  is  72.9%  of  people  projected  to  be  of  voting  age,  and  represents  a  very  good  registration   overall,  considering  the  slow  start.  The  registration  process  has  not  now  been  closed,  but  those   wishing  to  register  will  have  to  find  the  district  registration  point  as  opposed  to  being  able  to   register  at  the  ward  level.       The  three  Matabeleland  provinces  are ��officially  referred  to  as  having  around  15%  of  the  population   of  Zimbabwe,  and  their  total  of  800,000  voters  out  of  5,300,000  indeed  represents  15%  of  the   possible  vote.  Matabeleland’s  potential  vote  is,  however,  largely  bolstered  by  Matabeleland  North,   which  had  the  second  highest  registration  of  81.4%,  which  is  22%  higher  than  neighbouring   Bulawayo.  Even  so,  Matabeleland  North  barely  achieved  300,000  registered  voters  –  just  more  than   half  the  next  lowest  province,  Mashonaland  West.       The  high  turnout  of  people  to  register  in  Matabeleland  North  is  anomalous.  Politically,  it  has  not   shown  a  different  voting  pattern  to  Bulawayo  and  Matabeleland  South  in  the  last  20  –  or  37  -­‐  years.   This  deserves  further  inquiry  –  one  possibility  is  that  the  population  figures  for  Matabeleland  North   have  been  under-­‐estimated,  meaning  that  the  registration  numbers,  if  set  against  the  actual   population,  would  be  lower.    Our  observation  on  the  ground  and  knowledge  of  communities  in   Matabeleland  South  and  North  suggests  that  Matabeleland  South  and  Bulawayo  have  been  more   adversely  affected  by  the  issue  of  circular  migration,  with  villagers  in  Matabeleland  North  being   more  strongly  rooted  to  where  they  are.  It  was  also  our  observation  that  ZANU  PF  was  extremely   active  in  mobilizing  voters  in  Matabeleland  North,  with  very  visible  gatherings  promoting   registration,  and  this  was  less  observed  by  us  in  Matabeleland  South.  Certainly,  the  offence  of  being   forced  to  surrender  BVR  codes  to  the  ZANU  PF  committees  set  up  for  this  purpose  came  primarily   from  Matabeleland  North  rather  than  from  Matabeleland  South.95  However,  these  are  simply   suggestions  that  require  further  observations,  to  provide  more  insight  into  why  Matabeleland   North  seems  to  behave  differently  to  the  two  adjacent  Matabeleland  provinces  over  BVR.       Implications  of  poor  registration  figures  in  Bulawayo,  Matabeleland  South  and   Harare.     There  are  two  possible  reasons  for  the  low  BVR  uptake  in  Bulawayo,  Matabeleland  South  and   Harare:  apathy,  or  depopulation.  Bulawayo  and  Matabeleland  South  in  particular  are  deeply   affected  by  the  ‘circular  migration’  referred  to  earlier,  and  as  the  economy  has  worsened,  it  is  not   unlikely  that  more  and  more  people  are  being  forced  to  spend  at  least  part  of  each  year  abroad   looking  for  income.  This  is  a  highly  contentious  and  difficult  to  resolve  issue,  with  the  Bulawayo  City   Council,  for  example,  arguing  fiercely  that  the  city  has  more  than  the  750,000  residents  counted  by   ��                                                                                                           95  This  was  also  common  in  other  provinces,  but  this  report  is  focused  on  the  Matabeleland  provinces,  where   the  authors  have  personal  knowledge  through  personal  monitoring.       33