The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has welcomed Constitutional Amendment Act No. 3, saying it will improve election management.
The law shifts voter registration and voters’ roll management to the Registrar-General’s Office. It also creates the Zimbabwe Electoral Delimitation Commission.
According to ZEC, these changes will simplify operations and allow the commission to focus on its core responsibilities.
Speaking to ZBC News, ZEC Chief Elections Officer Simbarashe Tongayi praised the reforms.
“The Constitutional Amendment Act Number 3 is a good law because it streamlines the core functions of the electoral management body to focus on two key issues: conducting free and fair elections and voter education. This improves operational efficiency and streamlines functions,” he said.
Tongayi added that the new arrangement would reduce unnecessary duplication.
“The Registrar-General already has the necessary information required for the voters’ roll, so this improves efficiency because we were obtaining that information from them in any case.”
Debate continues over independence and transparency
The reforms come after ZEC faced heavy criticism during the 2023 general elections.
Several opposition parties accused the commission of gerrymandering. The allegations claimed electoral boundaries unfairly benefited ZANU-PF.
Critics argued that constituency boundaries heavily favoured communal areas over urban and peri-urban constituencies.
They also questioned the formula used to calculate voter distribution.
Some constituencies reportedly had more than 20,000 voters, while others had significantly fewer.
In addition, some analysts argued the delimitation process violated constitutional requirements.
Meanwhile, the transfer of voter registration responsibilities has divided public opinion.
Supporters believe the Registrar-General can maintain a more accurate voters’ roll.
They argue the office already manages birth records, deaths, identity documents, and citizenship records.
As a result, deceased voters could be removed automatically.
Likewise, eligible citizens could be added after receiving national identity documents.
However, critics remain concerned about the office’s independence.
They note that the Registrar-General operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage.
Unlike the Registrar-General, ZEC is an independent Chapter 12 constitutional commission.
Opponents argue that moving the voters’ roll to a government department could weaken public confidence in electoral independence.
The post ZEC backs Constitutional Amendment Act No. 3 as electoral reforms take shape appeared first on iHarare News.
