By Buhlebenkosi Nkomo
Claim: Some Zimbabweans believe that a person can be registered to vote in two different constituencies.
Verdict: INCORRECT
According to the Electoral Act, an individual cannot be registered to vote in two different places.
The Electoral Act (section 23) requires that an aspiring voter be resident in that constituency at the date of his or her claim for registration.
A voter who is registered on the voters roll for a constituency shall not be entitled to have his or her name retained on such roll if, for a continuous period of eighteen months, he or she has ceased to reside in that constituency.
Removal of duplicates
(1) The Commission (ZEC) shall ensure that no person is registered as a voter more than once on the voters roll for any one polling station.
(2)If the Commission is satisfied that a voter is registered more than once on the voters roll for any polling station, the Commission shall remove the duplicate or multiple names of the voter so that the name of that voter appears only once, and on the appropriate polling station voters roll.
(3) Without prejudice to section 28 (“Objections by voters”), no notice is required to be given of the Commission’s action before or after removing any duplicate or multiple names of any voter in accordance with subsection (2).
However, the Electoral Act states that a person may claim for a transfer of registration should the following happen:
(i) if they have become a resident in another constituency, they may seek the assistance of a voter registration officer at the appropriate registration office and submit the forms
(ii) if they intend to be a candidate for elections as a member of Parliament in which he or she is not a resident of, the applicant may send the appropriate form to the Commission for its approval. The applicant also has to provide an address in that constituency for the purposes of delimitation in terms of the Constitution.
When the registration officer is satisfied that the applicants’ are entitled to their transfers, the officer has to remove the applicants’ name from the voters roll of their constituency and then forward the applicants’ name and particulars to a new registration officer for the constituency to which the applicants’ have requested to be transferred to.
On receipt of the applicants’ names and particulars, the new registration officer has to register them on the voters roll of his or her constituency and notify the voters as soon as he or she is done.
Conclusion: The assertion that a person can be registered to vote in two different constituencies is not true
