Zec must decentralise voter registration

THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has said the February voter registration blitz has so far recorded 25 603 registrants across the country.

The Election Resource Centre (ERC) welcomes the increase in voter registration numbers witnessed since the beginning of the blitz.

Though only a fraction of those eligible to register to vote, the initial update of the blitz is a step in the right direction.

While welcoming the increase in voter registration numbers, the concerns we are seeing now with the low uptake of voter registration can be fixed.

ERC appeals to the commission to further decentralise the registration process as the exercise is affected by the inaccessibility of registration centres.

There is need for the Registrar-General's Office to work together with the electoral commission to ensure all youths are provided with national identity documents for them to participate in the registration blitz.

Additionally, there is a need to increase awareness on the importance of registration and voting.

Inaccessibility of registration centres and lack of national identity documents have been the main reasons why voter registration uptake has been low since the 2018 harmonised elections.

The voter registration blitz has provided an opportunity to bridge the gap between the commission and citizens.

The commission must further increase the visibility of voter registration centres as citizens have continually complained about lack of knowledge on the location of voter registration centres.

Recommendations

⬤ Zec must further decentralise voter registration centres to increase the uptake of voter registration in Zimbabwe.

⬤ The electoral commission must increase awareness of the voter registration blitz and synchronise efforts with other stakeholders for a wider reach.