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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has started the third phase of the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) exercise with over 2,3 million people having been registered so far.
The second phase of Biometric Voter Registration ended on Monday with the third phase starting on Thursday and expected to end on December 1.
In an interview yesterday, Zec commissioner Dr Qhubani Moyo said Zec anticipates an increased number of voters during the third phase.
“We have registered over 2,3 million people during the first and second phases of BVR. We have seen an improvement and excitement by citizens to register to vote. The proof of residence which was problematic has been made much easier as the commission got a commissioner of oaths status. Now our supervisors at various registration centres can certify proof of residence for those needing it,” said Dr Moyo.
At the close of the second phase, Zec had registered 2 361 433 people.
He said Zec was optimistic that the third and fourth phase, which will be the final phase, will see the number of registered people shooting up.
The final phase of voter registration will start on December 4 ending 16 days later.
“We still encourage people to go out in their numbers in the new areas to register to vote so that we can achieve an increased number of registered voters.
The improvement from phase one to phase two saw increased numbers and we anticipate even higher numbers in phases three and four. We are very confident that we will be able to achieve our numbers or at least a very decent figure which is close to the targets we want,” Dr Moyo said.
Zec is targeting to register seven million voters ahead of the 2018 elections.
Dr Moyo said the commission was concerned with politicians who were repossessing registration slips for their party supporters.
“Those registration slips are the property of Zec and the person who has registered. It is unacceptable for parties to be demanding information which is private and confidential. We will dissuade anyone who is doing that because it is tantamount to interference with the registration process. People may not understand the motive of collection of registration material. We want this process to be as smooth as possible so that people can register,” said Dr Moyo. — @nqotshili
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