Online Reporter
Zvamaida Murwira
Senior Reporter
GOVERNMENT is set to unveil a subsidiary legal framework that will guide the transfer of voter registration functions from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to the Registrar General’s office.
In the same vein, ZEC will cede the constitutional mandate for constituency boundary delimitation to the Delimitation Commission—a move in full compliance with the recently signed Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Act (Number Three).
Consultations have already begun among relevant Government departments to ensure the transfer takes effect.
In a statement yesterday, ZEC Chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba said the current consultations will result in a subsidiary legal framework that will provide clear guidelines and operational procedures to ensure seamless transfer of functions.
“Following the enactment of the Constitutional Amendment (No. 3) Act, 2026, which transfers the function of voter registration, the compilation of voters’ rolls and registers, the custody and maintenance of voters rolls and registers, to the Registrar-General and transfers the delimitation of constituencies, wards and other electoral boundaries to the Delimitation Commission, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) wishes to advise the public that the handover of those aspects of its mandate that have been transferred to other institutions is a process that it is engaged with,” said Justice Chigumba.
“ZEC is currently in consultation with the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, and anticipates receiving transitional subsidiary regulations which will lay out the comprehensive framework for the handover and takeover of said functions, providing clear guidelines and operational procedures to govern the transition.”
She said the Commission remained fully equipped to discharge its primary role of administering elections.
“The Commission wishes to assure the public that it remains fully equipped and operationally prepared to continue to discharge its core mandate as specified in section 239 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which is to prepare for, conduct and supervise all elections and referendums and to ensure that those elections or referendums are conducted efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law,” Justice Chigumba said.
Other roles she outlined were to design, print and distribute ballot papers, to conduct and supervise voter education, to accredit observers of elections and referendums, and to give instructions to persons in the employment of the State or of a local authority for the purpose of ensuring the efficient, free, fair, proper and transparent conduct of any election or referendum, among others.
In an interview, Justice Chigumba said consultations were still underway.
“We have not yet concluded the consultations and once they are finalised, the necessary announcement will be made,” she said.
The Registrar General, Mr Henry Machiri, said his department was ready to take over the role of voter registration.
“From 1980 up to 2013, the Civil Registry was responsible for voter registration. It got under the purview of ZEC from 2013 to date. So we are ready to continue with the work that we have been doing in previous years,” said Mr Machiri.
President Mnangagwa signed into law the Constitutional Amendment (Number Three) Bill after a thorough consultative process with members of the public before it was tabled before Parliament for consideration and subsequent passing.
One of the essential elements of the law was to transfer voter registration to the Registrar General from ZEC and the creation of a Delimitation Commission to carry out delimitation of constituency boundaries, whose role had been vested with ZEC.
The new supreme law has been celebrated by a cross-section of the country as progressive.
