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