The Sunday Mail
Justice Rita Makarau
Let me start by relating the background to Zimbabwe’s electoral reforms. Yes, we are aware that some people have been agitating for the protection of their interests. However, some of the reforms are reforms that we, as the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, were already looking at on our own. These reforms were driven internally by the need to improve our service delivery as an elections management body.
An example that quickly comes to mind is polling station-specific voter registration. Nobody asked us to do it. Nobody protested in the streets for it; nobody agitated for it.
We believe it’s a reform whose time has come, based on the long queues of voters we have seen in previous elections.
(Queues were long) because we didn’t have polling station-specific voter registration, and one could register in any particular ward and vote at any polling station in that ward.
There were long queues at some polling stations while others were unpopular.
So, to manage this and to be voter-centric, we have decided to go polling station-specific. This means each voter will be allocated to a particular polling station.
Our thresholds, though, will not exceed 1 500 (voters) per polling station. And how have we come up with 1 500?
This is the maximum number any polling station should be able to process between 7am and 7pm in line with the number of polling officers deployed per station.
Anything above that will stretch our polling officers and compromise accuracy and the integrity of the entire process. Thus the threshold is 800 to 1 500 voters per polling station.
This is a management tool in Zec’s hands. It was provided for by the law; the law left it to us to determine when to introduce it and we thought 2018 would be the right time to do so, again informed by experience, particularly 2013. We were also guided by comments relating to the 2013 elections, especially from observer missions.
The voters’ roll was among the issues that emerged.
Not many people believed in its integrity, though, in my view, there was nothing seriously wrong with that voters’ roll. I have seen a lot of voters’ rolls across the continent, and there was nothing seriously wrong with ours.
Many concerns were raised about the roll, with almost every observer mission having something to say about it.
We then decided to improve the way we come up with the voters’ roll going into 2018. We looked at all the available voter registration systems, and also consulted, sending our teams on tours across the continent.
There were three to four options, and we decided to go with biometric voter registration in keeping with Zimbabwe’s interests at this stage.
This is the trend not only in the region, but across the continent. It is electronic and easier to manage, a clear departure from the manual system we have been using.
So, we are going to introduce a new voter registration system for 2018.
Just to clarify, biometric voter registration is not an election day technology. It is simply a technology for voter registration before the election.
Voting is not going to be electronic because of biometric voter registration.
The biometric voter registration system means that in addition to details like your date of birth, names and ID number, we are also going to capture some of your biometrics.
We will capture your face and fingerprints digitally.
The biometric kit will have de-duplication, meaning when we take your fingerprints and digital image, the kit will determine whether anyone else with similar fingerprints and image has registered even under another name. This will give us a voters’ roll with more integrity.
In the last elections, voters dipped an entire finger in red ink, and cotton wool was used for cleaning.
Polling stations got messy, and four polling officers encountered medical complications after being in contact with the ink for prolonged periods.
To avoid that, we will use a marking pen with similar ink instead of having voters dip an entire finger. It’s packaged just like a pen; it has the same effect, but is much neater and user friendly. This is another innovation we have been working on.
And then the law compelled us on reforms like voter registration.
In 2013, voter registration was reposed in the Registrar-General’s Office. The Constitution has changed that; so whether we like it or not, the law has compelled us to carry out that reform.
We have to come up with a voters’ roll and maintain and distribute it to all candidates as well as political parties. That is a reform the new Constitution imposes on us.
We have to come up with a new voters’ roll, and the reason why it has to be entirely new is that, as I mentioned earlier, we will capture your digital picture and fingerprints.
Although the fingerprints will not appear on the roll, it is our intention that your picture will so that when you present yourself and your ID, the presiding officer is able to check whether you are the bonafide voter.
So, the picture is going to be an additional feature to our voters’ roll, which is going to be very different from the one we used in 2013.
Again, remember, it’s going to be polling station-specific.
We used to have a voters’ roll for the entire ward with up to 20 000 names, but the number will be, at most, 1 500.
Therefore, the roll will be shorter with new features.
When you go to register as a voter, you will still need proof of your identity and proof of residence. And if you don’t have proof of residence in the form of an electricity or water bill, or a title deed/lease agreement, the law now requires you to fill in an affidavit, swearing that you reside at a particular address.
ZEC is obliged to take that affidavit in lieu of the other forms of proof of residence.
We have just started the process of procuring the Biometric Voter Registration system, and have been busy trying to mobilise the requisite funds.
We are now at a stage where we can start procurement proper.
Co-operating partners, the United Nations Development Programme in particular, are coming up with a funding basket, and our Government is also contributing what they call “partner funds”.
We will soon go to tender, hoping there’s fair competition from suppliers of that technology. ZEC shall adjudicate the bids and award the tender to the most competitive bidder.
We are not looking at anything less than US$30 million in terms of costs.
Justice Rita Makarau is the Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. She shared these views with The Sunday Mail’s Senior Reporter Lincoln Towindo in Harare on October 12, 2016
