Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson Priscilla Chigumba yesterday told Parliament that the electoral body has registered nearly six million voters for this year’s polls.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is yet to proclaim the election dates expected to fall in July or August.
Appearing yesterday before the joint Thematic Committee on Peace and Security and the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Chigumba said the commission was still undertaking the biometric voter registration exercise, which will end two days after proclamation of the election date.
“Voter registration will continue in all the districts until two days after the proclamation. To date, nearly six million voters have been registered.
The commission will only announce the number of voters who will be eligible to vote once the process is done,” Chigumba said.
She added: “The commission is making strides to ensure that elections will be conducted peacefully in an environment that ensures that the will of the electorate is realised.
The commission is satisfied that its preparations are well on course and is ready to discharge its mandate in accordance with the law.”
On the issue of availing the voters roll to key stakeholders, Chigumba said she could not comment on the matter as it is before the courts, adding that Zec only makes regulations through the Ministry of Justice.
“Zec has been sued and I do not want to be in contempt of court. As a commission, there is no reason why we would not want voters to access the voters’ roll.”
On allegations of leaking voters’ phone numbers to Zanu PF, Chigumba said: “We have to protect the data of our voters in accordance with the Data Protection Act.
As a commission, it does not take anything away to give citizens a voters roll as readily as we can, but we have an obligation to comply with all pieces of legislation.”
She said legislators must find out how the voters roll is availed to people in other countries in the Sadc region.
“We will establish an electoral dispute resolution mechanism for the upcoming elections. In preparation for 2023 harmonised elections, the commission will launch the national multiparty liaison committee to be cascaded to provinces and district level to curb proliferation of electoral disputes and violence during the build-up to, and after the general elections,” she said.
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