IRI/NDI Zimbabwe International Election Observation Mission Final Report 25 Voter Registration International standards call on states to have an electoral roll that is accurate, comprehensive, and current, thereby ensuring that the right to vote is extended to all eligible citizens. Moreover, states must proactively place information regarding voter registration in the public domain. Under Zimbabwean law, every citizen who is 18 years old and possesses an identification document qualifies to register as a voter. The last census was completed in 2012, indicating some 7.2 million eligible voters in the country out of a total population of 12,973,80.21 In September 2017, the ZEC conducted a fresh voter registration exercise that used, for the first time, a biometric system.22 The decision to use an entirely new voters roll was a positive step as the previous voters roll had been widely criticized during the 2013 elections. This followed a change in the law moving the responsibility for generating a voter register from the Zimbabwe Registrar General’s office, which in past elections was widely perceived to be partisan, to the ZEC. The introduction of the BVR system was a welcome development toward building a more reliable and accurate voter register. However, the BVR system did not address questions about the registration rights of eligible voters living outside the country. Though the 2013 Constitution provides that “every Zimbabwean citizen who is of or over 18 years of age has the right to vote in all elections and referenda,” the Election Law limited registration to those who resided in a particular constituency for a continuous period of 12 months. In October 2017, a petition was brought before the court challenging the constitutionality of this election law provision on behalf of three Zimbabweans living outside the country. In May 2018, the Constitutional Court rejected the challenge, ruling that restricting registration to those residing in the country was consistent with the Constitution’s emphasis on a constituency-based political system. Overall, the voter registration process went relatively well, creating a roll of 5,695,706 registered voters, 54 percent of whom are women. The Harare metropolitan province has the largest number of voters (900,728), followed by Midlands (761,982) and Manicaland (733,370) provinces.23 However, the urban areas of Harare and Bulawayo achieved lower registration rates than rural areas as a percentage of the estimated total eligible voting population. Apathetic urban voters, a more aggressive mobilization effort in rural areas, and a lower number of registration kits distributed in urban areas may have all contributed to the relative under-registration rates among urban youth. Some of the rural districts of Matabeleland North and South also demonstrated under-registration. Ultimately, the ZEC fell short of its stated target of registering 80 percent of eligible voters. To bolster registration, a mobile registration process was implemented in certain regions of the country. During the BVR process, fingerprints and a facial image (photo) of the voter were captured by the BVR kit and stored in a central system. The BVR kits were used solely for voter registration and were not utilized on Election Day for voter identification. According to reports by the Zimbabwe Elections Support Network (ZESN) and the Election Resource Center (ERC), violations noted during the registration process included harassment and intimidation of registrants who were asked to submit serial numbers on their registration slips to traditional leaders or to ZANU-PF 21 Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, Census 2012, Preliminary Report, December, 2012. https://unstats.un.org/ unsd/demographic-social/census/documents/Zimbabwe/ZWE_CensusPreliminary2012.pdf. 22 The ZEC conducted pilot BVR runs during 2015 by-elections. 23 Chigumba, Priscilla. “Final Brief To Accredited Observers By The Chairperson Of The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission On The State Of Preparedness For The 2018 Harmonised Elections .” July 23, 2018, Harare, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.