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The first phase of the Biometric Voter Registration, which ended last week, provided a number of lessons for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, which if addressed can contribute to a more successful second phase. The second phase of the BVR exercise got underway on Sunday and we hope ZEC will continue to perfect its systems to ensure that as many prospective voters as possible are accorded a chance to register.

The BVR exercise is being held in preparation for the harmonised elections due next year. This exercise forms an integral part of the elections, and its success or failure will have an important bearing on the holding of the elections. This is why we urge ZEC to ensure that all its systems are in order to avoid situations where the BVR system becomes a point of contestation, especially for losing candidates. So far we have observed that ZEC’s first phase of the BVR exercise was done perfectly, despite a few problems in some areas. ZEC can still do far much better than it did in the first phase, especially considering that time is not on its side for the registration process. The third and last phase of the exercise will end in January. Remember, this is a whole new registration exercise, which should account for almost all eligible voters in the country.

To avoid cases where some will claim being disfranchised, ZEC should ensure that it relaxes some of the requirements for the registration process. We should be awake to the fact that voter registration is a voluntary exercise. No matter how ZEC carries its mandate to educate people about the exercise and publicise it, the electoral body has no mandate to force people to the registration centres. This means that anything that seems like an obstacle will force people to stay at home. ZEC chairperson Justice Rita Makarau announced on Sunday that the first phase of the BVR exercise managed to register 1,2 million voters. The figure might seem massive, but that is before one considers that ZEC targets to have registered at least seven million voters by the time the exercise ends in January.

This means that the electoral body is yet to account for nearly six million voters. One issue that has become contentious since the BVR exercise started is the proof of residence requirement. Well, ZEC has its own reasons for requiring the proof of residence, which are valid. ZEC is simply implementing the law in that regard. The electoral body obviously needs to be sure that it is registering people, not ghosts, and one way of being sure is to know where one comes from and where they stay.

When it comes to the allocation of polling stations, which will be ward-based this time around, ZEC has to ensure that one votes at the nearest possible polling station. This can only be achieved effectively in the presence of authentic proof of residence. The provision for the proof of residence is contained in Section 24 of the amended Electoral Act. The requirement was also reiterated in Statutory Instrument 85 of 2017 titled “Electoral (Voter Registration) Regulations, 2017”. Now that it seems all political parties are agreed on the need to do away with the requirement for proof of residence, it is incumbent upon them to push their legislators to consider changes to the Electoral Act as amended. Otherwise ZEC’s duty will be to strictly follow the law and the regulations, although the electoral body can come up with means that make it easier for people to obtain the proof of residence. One such move is its awarding of Commissioner of Oath status to voter registration supervisors to assist people without proof of residence documents at registration centres.