Mashonaland West Manicaland Masvingo Mat North Mat South Midlands Total Registered 655 133 733 370 617 212 339 135 264 185 761 982 5 695 706 Source: Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Voter registration for the 2018 harmonised elections closed on the 1st of June, but continued at all district and provincial offices though those who registered after the cutoff date would not vote in this election. d) Voters’ Roll Section 239 (d) (e) of the Constitution provides for the ZEC to compile voters rolls and registers; and to ensure the proper custody and maintenance of the voters rolls and registers. The Mission learnt that 79% of the eligible population registered, that is 5,695 706 million from a projected 7.2 million. There is an increase in women registered voters at 54%. Registration for youth also increased in comparison to 2013. The registration rate in the rural areas is 83%, a decrease from 97% in 2013 and in the urban areas at 72%, this is an increase were in 2013 it was 67%. Through briefings the Mission learnt that the 2018 voters’ roll is an improvement from the 2013 register, however there are anomalies and errors that require further cleaning. However to note is that registration for the youth and those residing in the urban areas still remains low. Stakeholders raised concerns about the availability of the final voters roll. The voters roll was not availed to political parties/ and or candidates before nomination, and this was a problem for some contesting candidates who failed to meet the required number of nominators as they could verify, whether their nominators were registered or not. The voters’ roll which was availed by the ZEC after nomination was not the final one. Stakeholders continued to raise concerns with the ZEC concerning the quality of the voters’ roll and availing of a biometric voters’ roll. The ZEC availed the final voters roll on the 25th of July 2018 a few days before the elections, making it difficult for any analysis and any cleaning. In the future the voters’ roll should be availed on time to allow for analysis and further cleaning. e) Voter Education The Constitution, Section 239 (h) provides for the ZEC to conduct and supervise voter education. Civil society organisations must obtain approval from the ZEC to conduct voter education. Political parties can conduct voter education without seeking approval from the ZEC. The voter education conducted has to be adequate, unbiased and gender sensitive. The clause that voter education cannot be conducted with foreign funding was repealed by the Electoral Amendment Act of 2018. 15