Introduction
As Zimbabwe prepares for the new polling station based and biometric voter registration for
the 2018 harmonised elections, it is imperative for the Government and the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC) to speed up the crafting of Electoral Regulations as provided for
under Section 192 of the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13). The regulations will seek to set the
procedures of all matters provided in the Electoral Act such as the actual duties of electoral
officers, the issue of voter registration, voter education, access by observers and journalists
to and their conduct at polling stations, membership and functions of the Multi Party Liaison
Committees among others.
Over the years ZESN has been advocating for comprehensive electoral reforms on the legal
framework, political environment and administrative reforms. ZEC is on record saying that
there are reforms that they are empowered to administer voluntarily (Mero Motu) through
Electoral Regulations. It is against this backdrop that ZESN is calling for ZEC and government
to put in place a transparent, credible and inclusive process in the formulation of the
Regulations for voter registration which has a huge bearing on the administration of
elections. The election regulations should have clear definition of terms to provide clarity on
the interpretation of the terms. Terms that could be considered in the definition of terms
section include the definition of ‘voter education’, ‘voter information’, ‘registration centre’,
‘registration staff’, ‘update’, ‘register, roll’, ‘ward’, ‘Commission’, ‘observer’, ‘agents’ among
others.
It is imperative for ZEC to extensively consult electoral stakeholders and ensure that the
process is open to scrutiny by adopting the Open Data Policy to enhance trust and
confidence.
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Zimbabwe Election Support Network ©2016