The Elections Resource Centre (ERC) has expressed concerns regarding proposed constitutional and Electoral Act amendments that would implement automatic voter registration for 18-year-olds ahead of the 2028 elections.
Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi recently announced government plans to streamline the voter registration process by transferring responsibility from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to the Civil Registry Department (CRD).
The ERC argues that this approach could violate constitutional principles and raise serious data privacy concerns, as it would involve collecting personal information without explicit individual consent.
“Section 10 of the Cyber and Data Protection Act stipulates that personal information can only be processed with consent. The current registration process requires individuals to present themselves at registration centers to provide consent for the collection of personal and biometric data. The proposed changes would seemingly bypass this consent requirement, raising privacy concerns around the use of personal data,” the ERC stated.
The ERC also expressed concern that the proposed amendments could undermine ZEC’s independence. Instead of transferring full responsibility, the ERC recommends fostering collaboration between ZEC and the CRD.
The ERC proposed the following recommendations- provision of sufficient funding to ZEC for periodic voter registration drives, especially in areas with low registration rates and to encourage partnerships between ZEC and civil society organizations to enhance voter registration efforts, drawing on the successful 2018 mass registration initiative.
By following these recommendations, the government can improve voter registration rates while safeguarding data privacy and preserving ZEC’s independence.
