Voter registration starts Monday

exercise that will run until May 19 ahead of the harmonised polls set for sometime this year.
This follows the release of US$8 million by Treasury for the exercise that is meant to enable all Zimbabweans who are not registered as voters to do so for the forthcoming elections.

Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa had already indicated that the exercise would commence on Monday.
Cabinet on Tuesday directed the Ministry of Finance to release the US$13 million required for the whole exercise.
In a statement yesterday, Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede said the exercise would be carried out throughout the country.
“The Registrar-General of Voters wishes to advise the public that national mobile registration will commence in all provinces from Monday, April 29 to May 19, 2013,” said Mr Mudede.

“The mobile registration will cover the following registrations only, national identity registration, voter registration and inspection of the voters’ roll.”
At least one vehicle would be required per each of the 1 958 wards countrywide. Mr Mudede said information on the itinerary of the mobile teams would be available at all provinces and district offices.

Voter registration was supposed to have started on January 3, 2013 but failed to take off because Treasury argued there were other budgetary demands hence the RG’s Office could not commence the exercise.

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Voter registration is a continuous process, but Government conducts a registration blitz towards each election to cater for people who would not have registered. For these elections, aliens are expected to throng the Registrar-General’s Offices and mobile registration teams after being granted voting rights in the recently endorsed Copac draft constitution.

The voters’ roll is ward-based and one is required to produce proof of residence to be registered as a voter in that particular area. Proof may include sworn affidavits, utility bills or confirmation letters from chiefs and headmen in rural areas.

Cabinet also directed the RG’s Office to replace lost identity documents for all Zimbabweans free of charge until the last day of voter registration for the forthcoming harmonised polls.

Those not on the voters’ roll would be entered automatically.
After the elections, the cost of replacing identity documents lost through negligence would be reduced from US$10 to US$5.
Those who lose the documents through circumstances beyond their control, Cabinet said, would get replacements free of charge.

The RG’s office was also directed to provide an electronic version of the voters’ roll to all stakeholders, while the printed version would cost US$5 000 per copy.
In the past, the voters’ roll cost about US$30 000 which political parties in the inclusive Government said was not affordable.

Married women who moved from their original birth places would be registered in their new places of residence upon authentication by husband, husband’s relatives, their children, neighbours, elderly people and or traditional leaders.

Mr Mudede on Thursday summoned all provincial registrars countrywide to brief them on Cabinet’s resolutions with regard to replacements of lost identify documents and voter registration.

Apart from the voter registration exercise, the RG’s office is expected to deal with irregularities picked up by Zanu-PF in Marondera where suspected MDC-T activists were registered using fake addresses.