ZIMBABWE ELECTION SUPPORT NETWORK BIOMETRIC VOTER REGISTRATION UPDATE – NUMBER 4 11 OCTOBER 2017 - The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) commenced the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) for the Wards which fall under Phase 1 yesterday. ZEC intends to roll out the process in four phases until 19 December 2017. ZESN has since made the following observations; Registration Process At all the registration centres that ZESN observed, all registrants had their BVR features; the face and fingerprints, captured for purposes of registration. All the registrants were issued with registration slips upon the completion of the registration process. In addition, ZESN did not observe any cases of registrants who registered without the documents required for registration i.e. proof of residents, identity, and citizenship. Furthermore, there were no reported instances of registration of ineligible voters. Voter Registration Equipment and Materials ZESN observed some, albeit few, cases of the malfunctioning of voter registration equipment. These included the laptop, camera, and printer at different registration centres. The registration process also came to a halt in Mbare at the Remembrance Hall registration centre after the centre ran out of the slips to issue to the registrants upon the completion of the process. Accreditation ZESN appreciates the accreditation extended to its observers. However, the accreditation process was not entirely smooth. In Harare and Bulawayo, accreditation was interrupted as some lists of observers that had been submitted to ZEC by ZESN were missing. In Gwanda, ZESN observers could not be accredited as there was no electricity in the area where the centre is located. The Marondera and Bindura accreditation centres experienced challenges relating to the absence of lamination machines while in Chinhoyi, the printer malfunctioned. The slow accreditation process and insufficient equipment affected ZESN logistically as more expenses were incurred in accommodating observers over an extended period. Of critical importance is the fact that the delay of this process resulted in some ZESN observers failing to commence observation in their respective wards when the registration blitz commenced. Moreover, ZESN is of the view that the accreditation fee, USD 10 per observer, is too high

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