Zim to start voter registration in October

Zimbabwe will start registering voters for general elections in October, officials have said, in the first concrete step ahead of a crucial vote expected to take place next year.

Voter registration will start from October and end in March 2018, officials from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) told civil society groups.

In addition to the mobile registration, continuous voter registration will take place at Zec headquarters, provincial and district offices.

Zec said it will relax requirements for proof of residence to include hospital bills with a residential address, or a letter from a relative who owns the property, as affidavits will not be insisted upon.

On the issue of the central database, Zec said in 2014 it had acquired — with United Nations Developing Programme (UNDP) funding — a database which will be used for 2018, although it required upgrading. Daily News