HARARE, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Zimbabwe government plans to review voter registration requirements after many people are failing to register under the on-going biometric voter registration exercise, a cabinet minister said Friday.
Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo, who is also the ruling ZANU-PF secretary for administration, was quoted by the state-run Herald newspaper on Friday as saying that many people were being turned away because they did not have proof of residence.
"The voter registration program is going on well but there are some challenges facing people, mainly to do with the issue of affidavits for proof of residence," Chombo said.
"We are going to sit down and look into the problem and see how that problem can be addressed," he added.
Among other requirements, people intending to register to vote in next year's polls are required to produce proof of residence. This requirement has affected many people in urban areas who do not own houses and have to obtain affidavits for proof of residence.
Opposition parties and civic groups have complained about this requirement, arguing that it will disenfranchise many urban voters.
Reports have also indicated that some people in rural areas are facing difficulties in getting proof of residence from traditional leaders who are allegedly demanding bribes.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is conducting voter registration afresh using the biometric voter registration technology. This means that every Zimbabwean eligible to vote must register afresh to vote in next year's polls.
The technology is hoped to help come up with a clean voters' roll and improve transparency in the country's elections which have previously been marred by allegations of fraud.
ZEC is targeting to register seven million voters for the 2018 polls. As of Oct. 15,675,762 people had been registered to vote since the exercise began on September 18, 2017.
