The authorities are also contemplating revoking
delimitation responsibilities from ZEC, proposing a return to the former system
where an independent commission was entrusted with delineating electoral
boundaries.
Under the proposed changes, which will require an amendment
of the Constitution, all voter registration processes will be handled by the
Registrar-General (RG)’s Office, with first-time national identity (ID) card
applicants being automatically registered as voters, while deceased individuals
are removed from the voters’ roll soon after the issuance of a death
certificate.
It is envisaged that moving delimitation responsibilities
from ZEC will mitigate redundancy in its administrative functions.
The proposed amendments stem from recommendations made by
Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) legislators in the Ninth Parliament ahead
of last year’s harmonised elections.
Their contributions were made during debate on changes to
the Electoral Amendment Act.
The opposition legislators advocated the restoration of
voter registration responsibilities to the RG’s Office, a system that was in
place before 2009.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi
Ziyambi told The Sunday Mail that consultations with stakeholders have begun.
It is believed the proposed amendments will be addressed
during the 10th Parliament.
“Towards the end of the Ninth Parliament, we deliberated on
the Electoral Amendment Act and, indeed, both parties agreed that the current
structure of voter registration under the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was an
anomaly,” he said.
“This is because these are processes that are required to
be done at the RG’s Office, at the Civil Registry Department, under the
Ministry of Home Affairs (and Cultural Heritage).
“In fact, the opposition, CCC, had brought in an amendment
which they thought would be done, but I then indicated to them that it required
a constitutional amendment.
“This is because the Constitution is the one that conferred
that function of voter registration to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
“We have now started consultations . . .
“It will be a neater process, because once one turns 18
years, and they go to apply for an ID, they can easily be registered as a voter
under the address they would have provided.
“When one is deceased, the system will automatically remove
them from the voters’ roll.”
Such a system, he said, will ensure that Zimbabwe has an
authentic voters’ roll, which is “better than the current system where ZEC has
to rely on information from the RGs Office”.
Minister Ziyambi said opposition legislators admitted
during debate in Parliament that they pushed for the transfer of voter
registration responsibilities to ZEC during the Inclusive Government to spite
the former RG, Mr Tobaiwa Mudede.
“During the deliberations, the opposition said this
amendment had been done because they wanted to spite the then-RG Tobaiwa
Mudede.
“So, it was actually called the ‘Tobaiwa Mudede Amendment’,
but the consensus is it was wrongly placed.”
He said consultations were also underway to amend the
supreme law to allow for an independent commission to take up the
responsibilities of drawing up electoral boundaries.
“Again, we had very intense deliberations on the
delimitation report,” added Minister Ziyambi.
“The general consensus was ZEC’s mandate should be to
conduct elections, thus we must revert back to a system where we used to have a
delimitation commission.
“This, again, we agreed in Parliament; it is another area
where we might now need to look at.
“We have started on background work to include it if we are
to bring in a Constitutional Amendment Bill.”
Once such responsibilities are taken away from ZEC, he
further said, the elections management body “will be left with the core
function of administering elections, without being involved in the
controversies involving the voters’ roll and delimitation”.
Over the past two years, the RG’s Office has issued over a
million civil documents, including national ID cards, as well as birth and
death certificates.
What they said in Parliament
We republish excerpts of the committee stage debate on the
Electoral Amendment Bill that took place on May 18, 2023, where opposition
legislators Mr Charlton Hwende and Mr Allan Norman “Rusty” Markham pleaded with
Minister Ziyambi to transfer voter registration responsibilities to the RG’s
Office.
*****************************
Source: National Assembly Hansard (May 18, 2023)
Hon Hwende: . . . what we are suggesting, Mr chairman, is
that we must have a mandatory electronic voter register that is kept by ZEC and
also by the Registrar-General.
I think if we word it properly, most progressive nations
these days, when you register for your ID (card), the whole registration is
done by the Registrar (-General). Sunday Mail
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