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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has identified over 2 700 centres for mobile biometric voter registration ahead of the delimitation exercise to determine constituency sizes for the 2023 harmonised elections.

The ZEC mobile voter registration exercise comes in response to concerns from stakeholders who argued that the electoral body’s offices were inaccessible and constrained potential registrants.

Statistics ZEC recently released showed that the Matabeleland region has the lowest number of registered voters countrywide.

If the trend continues, Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South provinces stand to lose constituencies when ZEC conducts the delimitation exercise in August.

ZEC has previously challenged citizens to come in their numbers when the mobile voter registration exercises to be conducted in February and April are rolled out so that their constituencies are not lost.

In a public notice yesterday, ZEC chief elections officer Mr Utoile Silaigwana announced 2 713 centres countrywide where the commission will conduct mobile voter registration.

“It is hereby notified for general information that the ZEC shall carry out a mobile Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) exercise for the delimitation in two phases. The first phase shall run from 1 February to 28 February while the second phase will run from 10 April to 30 April 2022. The centres will open from 7.30AM to 5PM every day, including weekends,” said Mr Silaigwana.

He said people should produce national identity documents, be they metal, plastic or waiting pass with the holder’s picture or valid Zimbabwean passport and proof of residence when coming for registration.

A driver’s licence cannot be used to register as a voter.

He said some citizens with IDs inscribed alien will be permitted to register as voters if their status is within the parameters of the country’s constitution.

“Please note that the category of persons whose national IDs are inscribed ‘alien’ eligible to register should have long birth certificates that include they were born in or outside Zimbabwe, but one of their parents are citizens of Zimbabwe or they were born in Zimbabwe and one or both of their parents are citizens of a Southern African Development Community country and they were ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe on the day of the publication of the Constitution on 22 May 2013,” he said.

Political parties and civil society organisation have welcomed the mobile voter registration exercise.

Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube, speaking in her capacity as Zanu-PF politburo member, said there is a need to educate the public about the importance of registering as voters.

“It is very important indeed and we should find a way of coming up with teams that will conduct awareness campaigns before the actual process is conducted. We have to educate the public so that they understand the importance of this process because without adequate representation, communities will lag behind,” said Min Ncube.

She challenged elected officials to account to the electorate once chosen to represent them.

Min Ncube said failure to do so leads to members of the public mistrusting electoral processes.

“Members of the public want to see their leaders on the ground. So once you are elected you have to go back to the people and account for what you promised them. When campaigning, political parties make promises on issues to do with rehabilitation of roads, infrastructure, among other things.

“Hence, it is important that elected officials account to the electorate. Accounting to the public gives members of the public confidence in trusting the electoral processes. And I will engage our party chairperson so that he can call a meeting so that we can discuss how we can approach the issue of encouraging members of the public to register to vote.”

MDC-T spokesperson Mr Witness Dube welcomed the planned voter registration blitz.

He, however, said there is a need to link it with access to national documents.

“We will affirm any strategy of registering new voters while also providing IDs to new voters. There is a need to synchronise national identity registration and voter registration. Because this is where we feel there is a gap in the voter registration strategy.

There is a disconnect between voter registration and access to national identity documents which are a precursor to voter registration,” he said. — @nqotshili