Voters roll saga: We will not comment until there is a court determination, says ZEC

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) says it will not respond to the request for the electronic voters roll until there is a determination on the issue by the courts.

There have been requests by civic society organisations, and political parties for the electronic voters roll in the past year after allegations of manipulation raised by Team Pachedu.

Election Resource Centre (ERC), which is one of the elections watchdogs in the country also tried in vain.

Parliamentarians such as Settlement Chikwinya of Mbizo Constituency also demanded the release of the voters’ roll so that it can be used in scrutinizing the delimitation report but could not get it.

However, in a tweet on its Twitter handle, ZEC said ‘’The issue concerning availing the electronic voters roll to those who request it is before the courts or sub-judice hence the commission will not comment on that matter until there is a court determination’’

In its defence, ZEC says it is protecting people’s personal information from being abused online.

According to election experts, access to voters’ rolls is important for the holding of credible, free, and fair elections as it enables stakeholders to verify the information.

During a Twitter Space organized by Sapes Trust to discuss the delimitation and voters’ roll, Dr. Phillian Zamchiya questioned the decision not to avail the voters’ roll.

‘’Where was the voters’ roll for the delimitation report? It was not made available to the public, and the ad hoc committee was not grilled as to why it left out such an important document,’’ he said.

Voters roll saga: We will not comment until there is a court determination, says ZEC