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AfricaFocus Bulletin
"As representatives of Zimbabwe's civil society, we are convinced
that at present, the country has not carried out sufficient
institutional and legislative reforms to enable the country to hold
credible elections free of violence and intimidation." - Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition, in statement calling for additional action by
the African Union and the Southern African Development Community.
This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains statements by the Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition and the Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network
(ZESN), on the conditions needed to ensure free and fair elections,
and the executive summary of a new report from ZESN on the state of
the electoral roll.
Another AfricaFocus Bulletin sent out today contains excerpts from
a new report by Afrobarometer on a national poll taken in late
October 2010, noting the current state of opinion and changes since
previous polls. Strikingly, a majority think that elections should
take place in 2011 although they also are apprehensive that they
will not be free and fair.
For previous AfricaFocus issues on Zimbabwe, visit
http://www.africafocus.org/country/zimbabwe.php
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http://www.crisiszimbabwe.org/
Addis Ababa, 26 January 2011
Sham elections across Africa have been a major cause of insecurity,
instability and violent conflict; recent examples include Kenya,
Zimbabwe and Ivory Coast.
The Africa Union (AU) must be robust and resolute in promoting
shared values and best practices in the management of elections for
purposes of political stability, good governance and sustainable
socio-economic development.
The AU's condemnation of Ivory Coast's election fraud is a
commendable first step that must be backed by appropriate action.
The same approach should be applied to all national electoral
processes in Africa, including in Zimbabwe where recent elections,
notably the 2008 plebiscite was marred by extreme violence and
intimidation. Following those elections, the AU and the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) underwrote an agreement under
which Zimbabwe's political leaders formed a power-sharing
government in February 2009 aimed at paving way for transparent,
free and fair elections.
As representatives of Zimbabwe's civil society, we are convinced
that at present, the country has not carried out sufficient
institutional and legislative reforms to enable the country to hold
credible elections free of violence and intimidation. We ask that
the AU takes the following actions on Zimbabwe:
Zimbabwe Election Support Network
16 December 2010-Harare- Zimbabwe Election Support Network welcomes
the statement expressed by the Registrar-General on the 14th of
December 2010 on ZBC TV. The Registrar-General noted that the
voters roll is in shambles, an aspect that ZESN has over the years
emphasized. ZESN notes that a clean voters' roll will go a long way
in increasing the credibility of electoral processes in Zimbabwe.
ZESN appreciates the intention to finally act on the voters roll.
Findings from the voters roll observation recently conducted by
ZESN revealed significant flaws with the voters roll when tested
for currency, completeness and accuracy. The research revealed that
27 per cent of voters in the voters roll are deceased, 41 per cent
of voters do not live at the address listed in the voters roll and
that only 18 per cent of registered voters are youths (18-30).
Research findings also showed that proof of residency requirements
for urban populations constituted an obstacle in voter
registration.
While ZESN welcomes the intention to cleanse the voters roll, we
urge the Registrar-General to ensure that the process is under the
control of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission which has the legal
mandate for electoral processes in Zimbabwe. ZESN observes the
close link that exists between voter registration and civic
registry but still believes that the mandate for voter registration
should fully fall under the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
ZESN believes that total control of the voters roll by ZEC will
ensure greater accountability on the state of the voters roll.
The voter registration and voters' roll clean-up processes need to
be transparent, inclusive and allow those who are eligible to vote
to be registered and those who are not eligible such as deceased
people to be removed from the voters roll. ZESN encourages the
commission to engage in voter education related to voter
registration, display, make accessible the voters roll to the
public to ensure transparency and enhance confidence in the
electorate.
An accurate, complete and current voters' roll will ensure that all
eligible Zimbabweans are able to exercise their democratic right to
vote in elections more so as we approach the referendum and general
elections in the near future. ZESN expects that disclosure of the
process will ensure that the authorities' plan for the millions of
Zimbabweans working outside is revealed and interrogated openly.
Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN)
In April 2010, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), a
civic organisation whose main goal is to promote democratic
elections in Zimbabwe, embarked on a Voters' Roll Audit (VRA) to
assess the quality of the voters' roll in Zimbabwe. The research
project sought to test the accuracy; currency and completeness of
the voters' roll and make recommendations for a clean-up of the
roll.
Voter registration is the principal means to determine those
eligible to vote and those ineligible to vote. Thus a flawed
voters' roll can disenfranchise eligible voters and allow
ineligible voters to vote. International law requires fairness in
voter registration in order ensure that all eligible citizens can
be registered to vote.
Observation of the voters' roll was conducted using three tests --
a computer test, a list-to-people field test and a people-to-list
test. In the computer tests, a number of variables were selected
such as age, gender and number of voters in 2008 compared to 2010.
In the two field tests conducted, the currency, completeness and
accuracy of the voters' roll were ascertained by confirming the
identity, national registration number, date of birth and address
of the voter. A systematic analysis of data obtained from these
tests provides critical information about the quality of the voters
that can inform efforts to improve the voter registration in
Zimbabwe.
Accuracy of the voters' roll
Completeness of the voters' roll
Currency of the voters' roll
The voter registration process
Recommendations to ZEC
Given the findings from the voters' roll observation, ZESN makes
the following recommendations to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
(ZEC) as the body that supervises the voter registration function
of the Registrar-General of Voters.
Voter registration exercises are resource intensive and ZESN urges
the international community to fund and provide resources as well
as technical support to ZEC on voter registration and maintenance
of the voters' roll.
AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication
providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with
a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus
Bulletin is edited by William Minter.
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