Some Citizens With IDs Inscribed 'Alien' Can Register As Voters - Silaigwana

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) says it will allow some citizens with IDs inscribed “alien” to register as voters if they fit the country’s constitutional requirements.

In a public notice on Monday, ZEC chief elections officer Utoile Silaigwana outlined the requirements for “aliens” to be permitted to register as voters. He said:

Please note that the category of persons whose national IDs are inscribed “Alien” eligible to register should have long birth certificates that include: they were born in or outside Zimbabwe, but one of their parents are citizens of Zimbabwe or they were born in Zimbabwe and one or both of their parents are citizens of Southern African Development Community (SADC) country and they were ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe on the day of the publication of the Constitution on 22 May 2013.

Silaigwana also revealed that ZEC has identified more than 2 700 centres countrywide where it will carry out mobile biometric voter registration.

Voter registration will be done ahead of the delimitation exercise to determine constituency sizes for the 2023 Harmonised Elections.

Silaigwana said unregistered citizens aged 18 years and above are eligible to register.

People intending to register as voters should bring national identity documents, be it metal, plastic or waiting pass with holder’s picture, or valid Zimbabwean passport and proof of residence to the registration centres.

However, a driver’s licence cannot be used to register as a voter. Said Silaigwana:

It is hereby notified for general information that the ZEC shall carry out a mobile Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) exercise for the delimitation in two phases.

The first phase shall run from 1 February to 28 February while the second phase will run from 10 April to 30 April 2022.

The centres will open from 7:30 AM to 5 PM every day, including weekends.

More: Chronicle