ZIMBABWE: PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS - 2005 8 7.4 Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens including the freedom of movement, assembly, association, expression, and campaigning as well as access to the media on the part of all stakeholders, during electoral processes as provided for under 2.2.5 above. Voter registration The voters register is maintained on an ongoing basis. It is linked to the citizens register and it is supposed to be automatically updated with records of deceased persons. When an election is announced, cut-off dates for registrations effective for that election are set. The registration for the 31 March election ended on 4 February 2005. Serious doubts have been raised regarding the changes to the registers after 2002 and also the changes made prior to the 2002 elections. In 2002 the observers noted that the period of registration was extended without making the extension public before it had expired. In the extended period there was intensive registration of ZANU PF supporters. From 2002 to 2005 the number of registered voters has increased from 5.6 million to nearly 5.8 million. The figures have gone up in almost all provinces, except for in the MDC strongholds Harare and Bulawayo where the numbers have decreased. The voters registers are being used to determine the number of seats per province and to control the vote on Elections Day. The change of registration figures led to a decrease of one seat in Harare and one in Bulawayo. On Election Day there was a fear that voters might have been removed from the polls and thereby prevented from voting, of the impersonation of deceased persons or other forms of fraudulent registration. The requirements for showing ID cards and the use of ink on fingers are measures taken to prevent the latter. Some attempts have been made by MDC to check the voters rolls, and they have reported a large number of errors submitted to the ZEC. MDC has called for an independent audit of the voters registers to be carried out after the elections. It has not been possible to verify the complaints, but there has thus far been no credible manner of response to such doubts by the ZEC. The low quality of the voters rolls was confirmed by the high rejection rate on Election Day (10-15%). Delimitation of Constituencies One of the big issues raised by the opposition and the domestic observers is the delimitation of constituencies. The delimitation was based on a voters register, which in turn, has prompted serious complaints. Given the figures from September 2004 the number of constituencies per province is correct. However, it seems clear that the registration figures in Harare and Bulawayo