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‘Zec must publish voters’ roll’

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INDEPENDENT electoral watchdog, the Zimbabwe Elections Support Network (Zesn) has called on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) to display copies of the voters’ roll at polling stations to allow for verification of the data collected during the voter registration programme.

INDEPENDENT electoral watchdog, the Zimbabwe Elections Support Network (Zesn) has called on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) to display copies of the voters’ roll at polling stations to allow for verification of the data collected during the voter registration programme.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

“Zec should consider adding to the regulations, provisions for the display of the provisional and final updated voters’ rolls outside of registration centres and polling stations,” Zesn said in a statement.

“The regulations should ensure that readable, analysable and up to date election information such as copies of voters’ rolls are availed at the finest possible level of detail and should be accessible at the polling station level to promote transparency and accountability.”

Zesn added that Zec should allow prisoners and prison officers, medical professionals, State security and election agents and elections officials to vote.

“Mechanisms should be provided for in the regulations to ensure that prisoners, those in hospitals, especially hospital staff, nurses and doctors, police, election officials and others who will be on duty on election day can exercise their right to vote,” Zesn said.

In the run-up to the 2013 harmonised elections, the opposition MDC-T ended up seeking recourse at the High Court to get a copy of the voters’ roll.

The law currently provides that a voters’ roll must be provided upon request to anyone with an interest and upon payment of a fee fixed by Zec.