Voter's Registration Process Defines ZEC

Allegations raised by the political activists concerning Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and the voter registration process, whether real or imagined, should be actioned to satisfy the minimum expectations. The reality is that issues should be worked accordingly in order to create a plain electoral landscape which fosters transparency and accountability. It is convincing to note that ZEC can do it considering that it is led by Justice Rita Makarau who is a respected legal mind in Zimbabwe and therefore, observation of the law can be guaranteed.

Voter registration establishes the eligibility of individuals to vote as part of their democratic participation in determining the national leadership. However, it is one of the more costly, time-consuming and complex aspects of the electoral process. It often accounts for a considerable portion of the budget, staff time and resources of an election management authority. Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has the critical mandate to drive this indispensible process in the country.

For the less informed, a well conducted voter registration process confers legitimacy to the electoral process. The entire process may be perceived as illegitimate should the registration system be perceived or imagined as flawed if it is done or shrouded in secrecy or obscurity. Therefore, there must be a guarantee that the right to vote in elections is equal, direct and secret. This franchise is the means through which the governed or citizens agree to delegate their authority to those who govern them like the president, members of parliament, senators and/or councilors among others.

It is the link between the legitimacy of political governance and the liberty of human beings in which their fundamental rights are respected. In a democracy like ours that others seem to have taken for granted, which is loosely viewed as the "government (cratos) by the people (demos)", voter registers constitute a concrete description of the "demos", that is, the citizens who constitute the sovereign and have the right to vote.

Citizenship is usually defined by nationality or by residence, or both. The sovereign that is politically active is the electorate, which may be required to register in order to exercise the franchise. Voter's roll or registers, which work to safeguard the franchise, should be universal and inclusive to all should include every adult person belonging to the citizenry and recognize then as participants.

The crucial question of who is a citizen, that is, nationals or residents, non-resident, displaced and refugee populations should be addressed before elections are held to make the process transparent.

Voter registration is directly related to political participation in terms of both citizen mobilization and voter turn-out. The operation of registering voters is in itself a mobilizing exercise in transitional democracies, as well as in established democracies where significant segments of the population may fail to register and vote. The vote of every citizen should have the same value without discrimination.

As a safeguard, voter registers that are clean and comprehensive contribute significantly to district delimitation as well as to the proper functioning of electoral formulae which is agreed in the country.

They are also instrumental in organizing voting operations, for instance, allocating voters to polling stations or preparing polling places and voting materials.

Another major benefit of undertaking voter registration before or at the beginning of the election period is that it allows disputes about the right of a person to vote to be dealt with in a measured way well before the polling takes place, thereby minimizing disputes on the Election Day.

Last but not least, properly compiled registers can also make difficult, and may discourage, attempts at double voting by deceitful political activists.

In structuring a voter register, the principal guiding principles are simplicity of procedures and convenience for the citizenry. In dealing with the exercise of a suffrage right, ZEC is under mandatory obligation to ensure that, political authorities and public officials must not hinder the exercise of that right by imposing obstacles which taint the electoral process.

Simple autonomous administrative procedures must be put in place, and the process for citizens to register must be made as convenient as possible, for example, avoiding the need to travel long distances, fastness in registering the prospective voters, thereby averting the need to show up several times at registration centres.

In making decisions about voter registration, ZEC must take into account terms and conditions which should be made clear to the electorate. Among the crucial questions that they face are the question of whether a new voters' list should be created for each election or is it better to maintain an ongoing list? How do eligible voters identify themselves as such at the voting station? Do they use a voter identification card or some other means such as the national identification (ID) card? If a voter identification card is used, what information must be on the card? Should registration be compulsory or voluntary? If registration is voluntary, should it be at the initiative of the citizen or the state? How should local conditions, for example, literacy rates, urbanisation, population mobility, relative affluence, history with democracy, affect the choice of a voter registration system? What role does computerisation play in the voter registration process? What aspects of the process are best handled by computer? What are the advantages and disadvantages of computerisation? What is the role of other technologies in the voter registration process? How can it enhance the voter registration process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of such technologies?

The answers to these and similar questions will help determine the kind of voter registration system which is best suited to our prevailing political context.

To suppress any doubt, ZEC can apply a comprehensive approach in which all compulsory stakeholders like political parties, civic society, scholars, students, ordinary citizens and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are consulted to afford them the opportunity to input their ideals in order to create a concordial flow as the process goes on. This definitely props-up the legitimacy of the polls and their outcome.