Voter registration update

re, Mashonaland West and Mashonaland Central.
Turnout
ZESN has observed that the exercise has, in spite of the generally low publicity, generated considerable interest among Zimbabweans as the turnout has been high at those centers that it has visited.
When the ZESN team visited the Mbare Netball grounds registration centre on Monday 2 July there were over 300 people queuing to register as voters as well as to obtain other identification documents. School children were milling around waiting for their opportunity to register as voters. An equally high turnout was witnessed at Nyachuru Secondary School in Mazowe District. Mashonaland Central.
At Copley Farm in the same province there were about 50 people waiting for a chance to obtain identification documents. Turnout was however low at Glen Norah District Office when the ZESN team visited the centre on Wednesday 4 July 2007.
Publicity
Most people at these centres said they had not seen the newspaper adverts that publicized the voter registration exercise. This was particularly the case at Nyachuru Secondary School, Copley Farm and Mhandu Primary School in Zvimba District, Mashonaland West. Only a five people at Mbare netball Grounds claimed to have seen adverts in the newspaper.
Although Rusvingo Primary School in Highfield , Harare was advertised as a registration center that would open from the 1st of July 2007 to 8th August 2007 ZESN noticed that there was no activity at the school. The registration team had not yet been to the school by 4 July 2007. ZESN was informed that several people had been to the school enquiring on when the exercise would start at the school. This will inevitably disadvantage many people considering that this was the only centre in Highfield which is one of Harare’s biggest residential areas.
Most people claimed to have heard about the registration from friends as well as the ZEC voter education teams that moved ahead of the voter registration teams. The ZEC teams moved from door to door urging people to register as voters. People suggested that radio and television would have been better mediums of communication.
Awareness
The majority of the people at most of the centers that ZESN visited were aware of when the voter registration would start in their area. They were however unsure as to how long the team would be in their area. At Nyachuru Secondary School some people asked for more time as they felt that the registration period in their area was too short. They however expressed their determination to follow the team to the next registration center at Gweshe Primary School, which is almost 7 kilometers away. The people were pessimistic that they would be registered at the center considering the slow pace at which they were being served. Some claimed that they had been at the centre for two days and were yet to be served.
Some people queuing to register as voters at Mbare were unaware of the need to produce a proof of residence. As a result some were turned away for failing to meet this requirement. The team leader for the Copley Farm registration team disclosed that they were not demanding proof of residence as it was ‘obvious’ that whoever came to register at the center was a local resident. None of the officials at the centers that ZESN visited disclosed the number of people who had been registered or turned away
ZESN also observed that a significant number of people were also getting death certificates for their deceased relatives. This would enable them (the deceased) to be removed from the voters’ roll. However an official at Mhandu Primary School linked this sudden rise in the people getting death certificates to the need to access food aid especially now that there were several organisations targeting orphans and widows.
Although registration for those between 16 and 18 was free, all those above 18 were supposed to pay $25 000-00. Those seeking to replace lost Identity cards were expected to pay $30 000-00. Some people who spoke to ZESN at Copley Farm and Nyachuru Secondary School on this issue expressed concern that the amount was exorbitant considering that they were poor and unemployed peasants.
Materials and staffing
All the centers that ZESN visited were adequately staffed while the personnel was friendly and professional. ZESN, however, observed that there were shortages of materials at some centers that compromised the quality of service delivery. At Nyachuru registration had to be halted after the team ran out of the registration forms. At Copley Farm the process was delayed because the teams did not have light bulbs, which are necessary for taking identity cards’ photographs. As a result the team was at the mercy of the weather as they had to wait for adequate sunlight in order for them to proceed with their work. Since it was largely overcast on Tuesday 3 July it meant that the team could not do much on this day.
To their credit, however, teams at Mhandu Primary School and Glen Norah District Council offices had generators, which they used in view of the current power blackouts.
Proposals
ZESN emphasizes the need to adequately equip the mobile registration teams with all the necessary resources in order for the mobile registration exercise to run smoothly. The Registrar General should strongly consider increasing the registration period as it is evident that it will not be possible to satisfy the huge demand for identity documents within the eight weeks allocated for this exercise. He should also ensure that his teams strictly adhere to the advertised dates in order not to needlessly inconvenience and confuse the prospective voters. ZESN proposes that a more comprehensive door-to-door voter registration exercise be carried out.