CLAIM: Voter registration requirements relaxed.
SOURCE: The Herald
VERDICT: Misleading
The Herald on 4 October 2022 carried a story headlined ‘Voter Registration Requirements Relaxed’.
Following the publication of this article, a Whatsapp message began to appear on various groups encouraging Zimbabweans living in South Africa to go and register to vote since ‘ZEC canceled the requirements of proof of residence meaning you can now just register’.
The message encouraged people to use the train to Messina, get a taxi to Beitbridge, register to vote and travel back to South Africa.
This advice was based on the assumption that ZEC had canceled the proof of residence requirement.
Bill not an Act
Unfortunately, while the Herald article did mention in the actual story that this amendment was still at Bill stage, the headline, coupled with lack of understanding of the differences between a bill and an act, could have led to people thinking that the amendment had already been passed and come into effect.
The headline was, however, misleading as it did not capture the pertinent details of the story: that Cabinet had approved the amendments but these remained just proposals until the Bill went through all stages until gazetted into law.
When will this be?
According to experts, no one can say with certainty when these amendments will become law.
The Executive Director of Abammeli Bamalungelo Human Rights Lawyers Network, Brazhnev Mathonsi, said the amendment will come into effect when it is signed into law.
‘The amendment in reference to the removal of the requirement for proof of residence will come into effect when it becomes law. That is when the amendment has gone through the full law making process. At the present moment the Bill with the amendment in question has only just been approved by Cabinet. It will now be introduced to Parliament, go through its first reading, public consultation, second reading at Parliament, committees, report, third reading, presidential assent and ultimately becoming law when it is enrolled into the Act and gazetted as such,’ he said.
This uncertainty of when was also pointed out by Veritas, an organisation which provides information on the work of the Parliament of Zimbabwe and the Laws of Zimbabwe and makes public domain information available.
In a query from FactCheckZW, the organisation said, ‘It is impossible to say when the Bill will become law. That depends on how quickly it can be passed by Parliament, assented to and signed by the President, and finally published as an Act in the Government Gazette. It will probably be accorded priority status by the Government and Parliament. We do, however, know that as of the 12th of October mid-morning, the Bill had not been received by Parliament from the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for gazetting.’
As of now, it remains unclear when (if) the amendment will be effected in time for those targeted by the Whatsapp message to be able to travel to Messina and register – without needing proof of residence- and be able to vote in the next election.
When will voter registration stop for the 2023 election?
Voter registration is an ongoing process. However, there comes a point where those who register after will not be able to vote in that election.
Veritas says it is impossible to predict that date as it depends on the ‘proclamation’ according to Section 26A of the Electoral Act. The proclamation referred to is the President’s proclamation, published in the Government Gazette, ordering the holding of the election:
Section 26A: Closure of voters roll before nomination day.
No person shall be registered as a voter for the purposes of voting at any Presidential election or election of members of the Parliament or councillors unless he or she lodges a claim for registration … no later than the second day following the publication of the proclamation … in relation to that election.
If one wishes to vote in the next election (in terms of section 26A of the Electoral Act) one needs to be registered at least 2 days before the sitting of the nomination court as per such date of proclamation.
Conclusion
The claim in the Herald headline that ‘Voter Registration Requirements Relaxed’ is misleading. This is a proposal still at Bill stage and until it is gazetted into law, it remains just proposed amendments. It is misleading as it gives readers the impression that they no longer need proof of residence to register to vote leading to messages as seen on the WhatsApp one, where people believe this to be the new position, which is not true.
