5.
The registration rate (as opposed to number registered) of women is significantly
less than that of men, particularly in the metropolitan provinces.
One must keep in mind that the 52:48 ratio on both the census and the voters’ roll is the
ratio of females to males as per the 2012 Census and the ratio of women to men on the roll. It
does not reflect the comparative registration rates. According to the June 2013 Voters’ Roll,
there is a higher registration rate of women than that of men in the rural provinces, suggesting
that the lower registration rate of women overall is on account of severe under-registration of
women in the metropolitan provinces. For example, in Harare Province the registration rate of
women is only 63%, against 83% for men. By contrast, in Mashonaland Central the rate is 92%
for women and 90% for men.
Unevenness also emerges when individual constituencies are examined, and when
considering the registration rate of each gender in particular age bands. For example Beitbridge
East (a constituency selected merely because it appears first alphabetically) not only shows
considerable bias in registration in favour of women, and much higher than the 54:46 ratio of the
voters roll as a whole, but also reveals a marked (and sudden) increase in favour of women in the
number of people registered as voters in the over 50 age bands.
6.
There is a marked registration bias in favour of rural constituencies.
The registration rate differs considerably between rural and urban areas. Some
constituencies comprise both urban and rural wards and were categorized as “mixed”
constituencies. According to the June 2013 Voters’ Roll, there are 3 891 425 registered voters in
rural constituencies as opposed to 1 424 047 in urban constituencies and 558 507 in mixed
constituencies. This gives a registration rate of 91.9% for rural constituencies, 78.3% for urban
constituencies, and 80.7% for “mixed” constituencies.
The registration rate in purely rural constituencies, from which ZANU PF is regarded as
drawing the bulk of its support, is thus considerably higher (94%) than that in purely urban
constituencies (74%) from which the MDC formations as regarded as drawing most of their
support, that is, about 20% more. This is particularly so in the over 65+ age bands.
7.
Miscellaneous Oddities
Several other oddities, which may be symptomatic of a larger problem, are worth noting:
There are numerous reports from people indicating that their names appear on the voters
roll even though they have never registered to vote.
The suffixes of the national registration numbers of 44 000 voters have been altered on
the roll. These voters thus may encounter difficulties with over-bureaucratic officials who
could insist on an exact match with ID discs.
Some married women have noted that, without their consent, their surnames have been
changed on the roll to the surname of their husbands. This may also cause problems
when presenting IDs at the polling stations.
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