MANICALAND
MASVINGO
MIDLANDS
BULAWAYO
MATEBELELAND NORTH
MATEBELELAND SOUTH
TOTAL
250
333
402
62
393
389
2,878
48
48
69
11
36
50
449
Taking cognizance of the fact that Harare with 54.5% and Bulawayo 50.3% recorded the
lowest registration percentages at the end of the phased registration, it was prudent for ZEC
to deploy more registration centers in the two cities for the mop up exercise in order to
increase the number of registrants in those areas. In addition, ZEC publicized that it will
allocate Harare 33 kits yet on the ground, these have been reduced to 26. From the reports
received from ZESN observers, it is apparent that ZEC needs to continue assessing its
deployment strategy for the BVR kits to allow for optimum distribution and targeting of
potential registrants. Places such as popular shopping centers, bus terminus and growth
points need to have BVR kits permanently stationed there as high volumes of people always
pass through. Furthermore, there is need for adequate publicity of the mop-up exercise in
the areas that are set up so that potential registrants are informed of the facility.
Turned Away
The need for all electoral stakeholders, including ZEC to make concerted efforts to educate
voters cannot be over-emphasized. The lower registration turnout in some areas can be
partly explained by the fact that some locals were not aware of the specific days when the
registration center closest to them was open. The need for robust voter education efforts is
also evident in reasons accounting for why some potential registrants are turned away.
These reasons include failure to bring required documents for registration such as the
national identity documents or proof of residence. The registration center at Nyanhewe
Primary School in Ward 3 of Kariba turned away 10 people mostly because of failure to bring
the required documents for registration, coincidentally on the same day (14 January 2018)
the same registration center only registered 3 people a figure which is 30% less than the
number of people turned away. Regrettably, this trend has been observed countrywide,
resulting in significant numbers of potential registrants being turned away for reasons that
could have easily been addressed by effective voter education.
Challenges facing citizens with Alien Status
ZESN also noted that quite a significant number of those turned away are citizens regarded
as “Aliens”. It is apparent that there is need to upscale the publicity of the requirements for
registration for citizens who fall under this bracket. The need for a long birth certificate in
addition to the national ID has been noted as one of the major reason why potential
registrants with an “alien” status are being turned away. There is therefore need to ensure
that these citizens have access to regularize their documentation and the process should be
free to ensure that no citizen is disenfranchised.