ZEC Denies Claims That The Voters' Roll Is Not Analysable

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has denied allegations that the voters’ roll recently given to presidential and National Assembly Constituency candidates is not searchable and analysable. In a statement seen by Pindula News, the ZEC Chief Elections Officer, Mr Utloile Silaigwana, stated that the voters’ roll is searchable and analysable. Reads the statement:

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) would like to dismiss as false, allegations reported in some sections of the mainstream media that the voters’ roll recently given to presidential and National Assembly Constituency candidates is not searchable and analysable.

The voters’ roll is searchable and analysable as per provision of Section 21(7)(1) of the Electoral Act[Chapter 2:13]. The provision permits the Commission to format the voters’ roll to prevent it from being altered or tampered with. It is for this reason why ZEC has issued out the voters’ roll in its current format. There is nowhere in the Act where it is stated that the roll should be in excel or printable formats known to have compromised security features.

The voters’ roll issued out to candidates has columns for the voter’s surname, forename, ID number, gender, date of birth, voter’s address, polling station, ward, local authority, constituency, district and province as prescribed in Section 20(2) of the Electoral Act.

Polling station codes have not been included on the voters’ roll, because they are an administrative tool used by the Commission to map out polling stations during delimitation hence they are not part of the voters’ roll as alleged. The electorate and other stakeholders should expect to see real names of polling stations and not codes on the voters’ rolls.

Buy Samsung, itel, Redmi smartphones in Zimbabwe

WhatsApp: +263715068543

Ordinary voters without access to the electronic voters’ roll are encouraged to dial the USSD Code *265# on their mobile phones to ascertain their registration status and respective polling stations.

The Commission would like to urge all stakeholders with queries on the voters’ roll or any other electoral issue to approach the Commission for clarification. They should desist from casting aspersions on the voters’ roll and other electoral processes as this may affect voter turnout and discredit the polls.

More Pindula News