ZESN - Promoting Democratic Elections in Zimbabwe 6. Voter Registration In accordance with Section 36A of the Electoral Act Chapter 2:13, the President, on advice of the Commission, 'may at any time proclaim in the Gazette an order that there shall be a new registration of voters'. On 9 September 2017 former President, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, proclaimed that BVR would commence on 14 September of 2017.'23The ZEC went further to issue Statutory Instrument 85 of 2017 'Electoral (Voter Registration) Regulations' to set out the voter registration regulations and procedure. The new BVR system was used for the first time in Zimbabwe for the development of a new voters' roll. It was also the first time that ZEC conducted the voter registration, having assumed this role from the Registrar General. Furthermore, a polling station based voting system was used for the first time in harmonised elections. Many raised the issue that it was cumbersome and discouraged some from registering to vote24. In urban areas, the registration processes was negatively affected by the shortage of affidavits and Commissioners of Oath. Traditional leaders were the primary source of letters that supported registrants' proof of residence in rural areas. 6.2 The Right to Vote Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that: • Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives; • Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country; • The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures. 6.1 Qualifications for Registration According to Schedule 4 of the Constitution, a person may register as a voter if they are 18 years or over and a Zimbabwean citizen. The Constitution allows for additional requirements to be added by electoral law but these must be consistent with Section 67 of the Constitution which guarantees every citizen the right to participate in electoral processes. Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) provides that every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity without unreasonable restrictions: • to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; and • to vote and be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electorate. According to Section 23 of the Electoral Act, for a person to be registered as a voter in a constituency, they must be resident in that constituency unless they intend to run as a Member of Parliament (MP) for a constituency in which they are not resident. The Act further states that the Commission may prescribe documents that shall constitute proof of residence. In line with the Act, Section 5 of the regulations set out the documents that would suffice as proof of address. African Governments, through the African Union's Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, commit to establish, where none exist, appropriate institutions to resolve issues such as code of conduct, citizenship, residency, age requirements for eligible voters, compilation of voters registers, etc. While the ZEC tried to be extensive in stating what constitutes proof of residence, it was still argued that this requirement was prejudicial to some who were unable to attain said the relevant documents. 23 ZESN Biometric Voter Registration Observation Report Available at: http://www.zesn.org.zw/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/ZESN-BVR-Observation-Report.pdf Available https://www.herald.co.zw/residents-say-no-to-proof-of-residence-for-bvr/ 24 24 REPORT ON THE 30 JULY 2018 HARMONISED ELECTIONS ZESN