4. THE ZIMBABWEAN CONTEXT 4.1 Historical Context of Voter Registration and the Voters’ Roll Zimbabwe’s switch from manual Voter Registration to BVR was a product of necessity based on challenges associated with the voters roll from previous elections. Issues around Voter Registration, the resultant voters’ roll, access to it, and its integrity have been at the centre of many election petitions and disputes in Zimbabwe since the 1990s.14 From the 1990’s, seminal cases like that of Margaret Dongo and Fidelis Mhashu15 revealed serious irregularities and defects with the Voters Roll and highlighted the deficiencies of the manual Voter Registration processes. For instance, it was found that of the 33, 261 voters registered voters in Harare South constituency where Dongo was a candidate for Parliament, at least 13,600 had either no address in the constituency or the addresses were suspicious.16 The above, and other, challenges with the voters’ roll during the 1995 election, led to Dongo winning her case and eventually a rerun was ordered in the Sunningdale Constituency, which she was contesting to represent as MP. This case provided evidence to claims on the lack of integrity of the voters roll. Commentators estimated that at least 41% of the close to 5 million names on the 1995 voters roll were inaccurate17, and there was a consensus among local observers like the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) and the state-run media like The Herald that the election, while free, was unfair on the strengths of these irregularities.18 Challenges associated with voter registration and the voters’ roll intensified in 2000 with the Registrar of Elections, also the Registrar General, in office since 1981, being accused of manipulating voter registration and the voters roll to ensure ZANU-PF victories. Accusations were levelled mainly by opposition political parties and were based on civil society observations included routine denial of access to and inspection of the voters roll, errors in the voters’ roll including duplications and suspicious registrations. These and other issues prompted ZESN to recommend in its 2008 Post-election report that there be a complete transfer of the management of the electoral process including preparing of the voters’ roll to the ZEC, in both law and practice.19 14 Sithole, M., & Makumbe, J. (1997). Elections in Zimbabwe: The ZANU (PF) hegemony and its incipient decline. African Journal of Political Science/Revue Africaine de Science Politique, 122-139. 15 Dorman, S. R. (2005). ‘Make Sure They Count Nicely This Time’: The Politics of Elections and Election Observing in Zimbabwe. Commonwealth and comparative politics, 43(2), 155-177. 16 Makumbe, J. M., & Compagnon, D. (2000). Behind the Smokescreen: The politics of Zimbabwe's 1995 general elections. University of Zimbabwe Publications Office. 17 Makumbe and Compagnon (ibid) at 220. 18 As seen through ‘Elections free, not fair’, Sunday Gazette, 23 April 1995; ‘1995 elections unfair’, Sunday Gazette, 13 Aug. 1995; ‘Election was unfair: ZCC’, Herald, 21 Aug. 1995, and ‘State Press snaps at watchdog’s “unfair poll” verdict’, Horizon, July 1995, 9. All cited in Dorman, S.R. (2005) above 19 ZESN (2008). Report on the Zimbabwe 29 March Harmonized Election and 27 June 2008 Presidential Run-Off. Harare. Zimbabwe