bulk SMSs sent out by the ZEC31. An exclusion list produced by ZEC had a total 11 018 registrants, with the following breakdown:5 326 deceased, 3 077multiple registrations and 2 615 with incorrect ID numbers. ZESN observed the inspection of the provisional voters’ roll by deploying 210 LTOs. The LTOs observed inspection at 693 ICs. The law clearly stipulates that the voters’ roll is a public document and open to inspection by the public. However, during the inspection period ZESN observers noted that: The voters’ roll was not posted for inspection outside ICs and people could only check their names by handing their identity documents to the inspection staff. The impact of this was that voters could not check for friends or family or provide objections to the Inspection Centre staff. This public scrutiny of the roll is important for removal of ineligible voters by reason of multiple registration, death or nonresidence. Apart from the fact that the voters’ roll was not displayed for public inspection, the major problem witnessed was shortage of some of the materials required to make changes or add new registrants to the voters’ roll. Observers encountered ICs where the Voter Registration Data Correction Form (VR 1) and Transfer Form (VR 3) were missing 15% of the ICs where ZESN deployed observers. This was high especially at the beginning of the inspection period.32 ZEC did not have regulations for the inspection process and hence procedures were not uniformly applied by officials. Of the centres visited by ZESN LTOs, 18% were inaccessible for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). LTOs also observed that political party agents were largely absent at most ICs. 6.8 De-duplication Process The Electoral Act states, in Section 32, that the Commission shall ensure that no person is registered as a voter more than once on the voters’ roll for any one polling station. However, in the event that ‘the Commission is satisfied that a voter is registered more than once on the voters’ roll for any polling station, the Commission shall remove the duplicate or multiple names of the voter so that the name of that voter appears only once, and on the appropriate polling station voters’ roll.’33 31 https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/news/2018-polls-4-8m-inspect-voters-roll/ http://www.zesn.org.zw/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/ZESN-Report-on-the-Inspection.pdf 33 Section 32 of the Electoral Act 2:13 32 38 | P a g e