ZIMBABWE ELECTION SUPPORT NETWORK Recommendations The ZEC released the 2018 FVR too late in the process to address any shortcomings identified for the 2018 harmonized elections. Had the 2018 PVR been released in electronic format earlier or had the ZEC made more detailed information available in electronic format at the end of each phase of the BVR process then a computer audit could have been conducted much earlier and recommendations could have been offered in a timely fashion to enhance the inclusiveness of the BVR process and the quality of the resulting 2018 FVR. This could have helped build public confidence not only in the 2018 FVR, but also in the ZEC itself in advance of Election Day. • • • • Based on our analysis of the 2018 FVR, ZESN offers the following recommendations for future voter registration processes: • • • • • The ZEC should equitably distribute BVR kits to urban and rural areas, The ZEC should ensure that all eligible voters are given the opportunity to register to vote as the current voters' roll exclude 21% of potential voters. The ZEC and civic organizations should conduct more targeted voter education and voter registration activities targeting young voters between the ages of 18 to 32; • The ZEC should provide more timely detailed registration information in electronic format for each phase of the BVR process; The ZEC should compare registration information across voters' rolls to identify possible errors; The ZEC should also explain what constitutes a material or immaterial error on the voters' roll, in order to prevent disenfranchisement of registrants whose registration details might have errors; The ZEC should consider posting voters' rolls outside inspection centres to allow for public scrutiny for removal of ineligible voters by reason of non-residence, or death; The ZEC should further clean the voters' roll by, investigating all unusual entries and removing duplicate entries; Achieving a credible voters' roll should be possible if ZEC continues to invest in good data management and analysis skills to deal with complex nature of the voters' roll data; ZEC needs to check out strange instances where the registered voters exceed projected population figures especially for age groups above 39 years. 9 FINAL REPORT OF THE 2018 VOTERS' ROLL AUDIT