Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) ZESN WELCOMES COMMENCEMENT OF CONTINUOUS BIOMETRIC VOTER REGISTRATION 20 September 2017 - The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) welcomes the commencement of the Biometric Voter Registration exercise at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) district offices. The rolling out of the registration exercise at district level facilitates the continuous registration of voters as stipulated by the law. ZESN notes that an inclusive and comprehensive voter registration is the backbone of any successful election and as such is closely observing the voter registration exercise at the district centres. ZESN will also deploy observers to cover the nationwide registration to be conducted in all the wards. ZESN has made the following observations since the commencement of the exercise on Monday 18 September, 2017: 1. Distribution of Voter Registration Centers: ZEC established registration centers in all 63 districts of Zimbabwe. ZESN observers have reported discrepancies in the days that the centers started registration and also the times that the centers are open. It appears that the ZEC officials manning the registration centers are also the same officials conducting the ongoing training for provincial registration officers. 2. Election Roadmap: Despite repeated requests for a clear elections roadmap, ZEC has, to date, not furnished stakeholders with a detailed roadmap with specific start and end dates for different processes. It appears ZEC made an impromptu decision to use the available kits intended for the training of trainers exercise for the ongoing voter registration. Currently, independent observers, party agents, and the media have not yet been accredited. There is need for the aforementioned actors to be accredited so that the whole process can be subjected to observation. 3. Opening Times of Registration Centres: Registration centers did not open on the 14th of September 2017, in accordance with the Presidential proclamation which indicated the start of the voter registration exercise. 4. Voter Education: It would have been prudent for the proclamation to be preceded by effective voter education, for instance, informing the public about the location of the voter registration centers. Communication regarding registration forms and proof of residence seems rather poor. It has so far been observed that registrants are being told about the process at the point of registration, for example, that the form needs to be signed by a commissioner of oaths. The public also needs to know when the rest of the BVR kits will be 1

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