Letters: Inspection of voters rolls: Times and places

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission [Zec] has announced that the voters’ roll to be used for the 2023 harmonised elections will be open for inspection for five days, from May 27 to 31, between 7am and 5pm.

Zec’s list of centres where rolls can be inspected is available on the Veritas website.

Persons who want to inspect the rolls will have to bring identification:

• Their national ID
• A “waiting pass” showing their picture, or
• Their passport.

Four points to note:

1. Voters will have to go to their “ordinary polling stations” [presumably the polling stations where they are registered] in order to inspect the rolls physically.

Alternatively, those who have mobile phones will be able to inspect the rolls using the USSD code *265# for both NetOne and Econet subscribers.

2. The cut-off date for the rolls was April 28 2023. Hence only those who were registered on the rolls on or before that date will be listed on the rolls that are open for inspection.
3. According to a later announcement by the chief elections officer, people will not be able to register as voters at the inspection centres. Anyone who is not registered will have to go to one of the usual registration centres to be registered. A list of these can be found on the Veritas website.
4. Although Zec’s announcement does not say so, voters rolls will presumably still be open for inspection after the five-day period has elapsed, at Zec’s provincial and district offices in terms of section 21 of the Electoral Act.

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Rolls are not yet final

As we have said, only those people who were registered on or before April 28 will find their names listed on the rolls. 

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This does not mean that citizens who become registered after that date will not be able to vote in the harmonised elections. 

According to section 26A of the Electoral Act voters rolls are closed for the purpose of an election two days after the proclamation calling the election is published. 

Anyone who before that date is registered as a voter, or has lodged a claim to be registered, is entitled to have their name put on the roll and to vote in the election.

Hence Zec’s announcement was not quite correct when it said that the voters’ roll to be used for the harmonised elections was open for inspection. 

The voters’ roll is not yet complete;  it is a work in progress, and voters’ names may still be added to it.

Rolls cannot really be inspected

It seems from Zec’s announcement that voters will be able to find out if their names are on the voters’ roll for their polling station, but that is all. 

They will not be able to examine the rolls to see, for example, if someone else’s name appears on a roll or is missing from it. 

This is not really “inspection” as envisaged by section 21 of the Electoral Act, which states that voters rolls are public documents and are open to inspection by the public, and moreover that persons inspecting rolls are entitled to make written notes of anything contained in them.

It is to be hoped that at some stage Zec will allow members of the public to exercise their right of inspection in the fullest sense.

Not enough notice, not enough time for inspection

Zec’s announcement that rolls would be open for inspection was published on May 23, only four days before the inspection exercise was due to start. 

The announcement may not have reached many people outside the main urban areas. 

Also, voters rolls will be open for inspection for only five days, which may not give people living in rural areas much time to travel to their nearest inspection centre, assuming they know where it is situated.

 Even though the rolls will be probably be open for inspection after the five-day period at Zec provincial and district offices, these are not convenient for most people. 

It would be better if the five-day period could be extended. - Veritas

In 2018, the government highlighted its ambition to harness the informal economy by formalising it so as to tap into its unexplored revenue.

The same sentiments were echoed by the president in 2023 when he announced government`s plans to craft a formalisation strategy.

To that end, the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (Zimcodd) carried out a survey to understand the plight informal sector actors with the intention of coming up with actionable organic policy alternatives.

The following policy alternatives are proposed towards a just model policy framework for an inclusive and progressive informal economy

In redressing the currency crisis that affects all sectors, the Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe must adopt floating exchange rates, moving away from pegged rates, monetary policy that allows for trading with the market, government policies to attract foreign investment, and the country purchasing its own currency.

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in conjunction with the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development must establish inclusive and progressive funding alternatives that specifically target investing into the informal sector.

Approximately, 10% of the national budget must supplement these funding alternatives.

A just model policy alternative must be guided by the following principles; transparency, integrity, accountability and responsibility to flush out all under dealings and partisan allocation of resources.

A just model policy for the informal sector must respect the right to carry on trade or business as codified in Section 64 of the constitution which provides for the right to freedom of choice and practice of a trade or profession.

Further, section 24 of the constitution provides for the national objective of removing restrictions that inhibit people from working or otherwise engaging in gainful economic activities while section 13 of the constitution obliges the government to promote private initiatives and self-reliance.

The formalisation strategy or a just model policy must be cognisant of the gender dynamics and imbalances that exist in the informal sector. It must be tailor-made to guarantee gender equity.

The policy must prioritise the vulnerable and marginalised groups such as women, persons with disability and youths.

There is need for the establishment of a vulnerable funding pool.

At the same time, the government must set aside at least 10% of its procurement contracts for the same.

Government public procurement or spending must also target the informal sector, this means at least 30% of government procurement must be from the informal sector.

Another 10% of this must be earmarked for vulnerable groups mentioned above.

 The just model policy must seek to strike a deal with insurance brokers on possible and yet comprehensive ways of insuring the informal sector particularly the Glen View Area 8 complex in Harare.

There is need for the government to reinvest infrastructure that necessitates the operations of the informal sector.

Modernisation of flea markets and vending sites will go a long way in attracting customers and investors.

The government needs to find better ways of taxing the informal sector which will not suffocate emerging and struggling businesses.

Policy formulation or strategy development must take the hybrid approach which encompasses both top-down and bottom-up approaches to ensure greater public participation and policy acceptance.

Thus, comprehensive and inclusive public hearing and consultative forums must be at the core.

The Informal Sector Inclusion Framework (Zimcodd, 2018) details how the government must include the informal sector in the mainstream economy for attainment of vision 2030. 6.

The informal sector has become the economic life line of Zimbabwe.

It is currently the nerve-centre of the economy accounting for over 40% of job creation in the country and contributing over 50% to domestic resource mobilisation.

 In an attempt to promote an inclusive, just, progressive fertile ground for the success of the informal economy Zimcodd believes that the religious adoption of the proposed policy alternative will culminate in a positive transformation of the informal sector. - Zimcodd

Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) joined the rest of Africa in celebrating the 56th Africa Day. The African Union's 2023 theme for Africa Day is Africa — Opportunities in Challenging Times.

This year’s celebration came at a time when most Zimbabweans are facing mounting challenges with limited opportunities.

The country is currently facing huge economic challenges characterised by high inflation in real terms, the subsequent escalation of prices of basic commodities and a failing health care system. Furthermore, the government is taking a radical stance in tackling perceived threats by shrinking the democratic space using restrictive legal frameworks and criminalising human rights work.

The convictions of Fadzayi Mahere, Job Sikhala and Jacob Ngarivhume are a cause for concern as they demonstrate the criminalisation of fundamental freedoms of expression, assemble and association.

Zimbabwe is set to hold its harmonised elections between July and August amongst a number of African countries which are also set to hold elections this year.

These include Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Lione and the Central African Republic among others. Elections in Zimbabwe have long been a violent affair, with scores killed in the run up to the polls and their aftermath.

As Zimbabwe prepares for the upcoming elections, incidents of political violence have been on the rise.

The country has a long history of violence in the context of elections, with the ruling party Zanu PF being the major perpetrator of electoral violence including in the 2008 elections.

African countries in general and Zimbabwe in particular should implement electoral reforms in order to hold democratic elections to provide legitimacy to governments and reduce the probabilities of electoral violence hence contribute to silencing the gun by 2063.

ZPP condemns in the strongest terms, the harassment and intimidation of civic society organisations and individuals who exercise their constitutionally guaranteed freedoms.

The organisation reiterates that civic society is there to complement the efforts of government and should in no way be perceived as a threat in a democratic space. - ZPP

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