characterised by an inaccurate/erroneous and incomplete voters’ rolls that has affected the
credibility of previous electoral processes and outcomes.
Clause 6
7|Page
Recommendation
ZEC must produce a clean, comprehensive and accurate voters’ roll containing names of all
registered voters, in accordance with section 155 and section 67 of the Constitution that
guarantee the right to vote for all citizens.
This amendment epitomises the rushed and often clumsy way amendments to the Electoral
Act have been done along the years. This amendment should have been dealt with given
that the Electoral Act has already been amended at least thrice after the enactment of the
2013 Constitution. The reference to abolished posts should at least have been easily
addressed by now, given the clear language of the Constitution on the role of the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to run elections. However, the amendments should be
applauded to the extent they align the Electoral Act with the Constitution.
The clause seeks to effect
some
‘minor
and
consequential
Amendments’ to the
Electoral
Act,
by
removing references to
abolished
posts
of
"Registrar-General
of
Voters and "constituency Recommendations.
registrars".
The State should still consider a comprehensive, all-inclusive process of amending the
Electoral Act to address all gaps and inconsistences to the Constitution that still remain
within the Electoral laws. ZESN has produced previous policy papers on areas of the
Electoral Act requiring amendments. By focussing the latest amendments on the
registration process only, another opportunity to align the Act with the Constitution has
been missed and this may come back to haunt the national election expected in under a
year from now
AN ANALYSIS OF THE ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL ©ZESN 2017