Fact Check: Preliminary Delimitation Report numbers on Mashonaland East don’t add up - ZimFact
Ngoni Mhuruyengwe
January 12, 2023
CLAIM – Zimbabwe’s social media is alive with a debate on a Preliminary Delimitation Report compiled by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) which is currently under review in parliament, with arguments focusing mainly on the calculation of voter numbers and accusations of suspected manipulation of data by ZEC in some provinces.  One of the claims is that the number of registered voters in Mashonaland East Province from the figures provided does not add up.
In this case, is this true or false?
Verdict: True
The ZEC figures in the preliminary report shows that Mashonaland East Province had 641,668 registered voters as of 30 May 2022. The commission says this figure is 17,038 voters more than the 2007/8 total for the Province, which has 23 constituencies allocated to it during the last 2007/8 delimitation exercise.
However, using a breakdown of the figures provided by ZEC in the same report, the total number of registered voters in the province tallies at 644,256 and not the 641,668 that is carried in the Preliminary Delimitation Report.
There is a difference of 2,588 voters.
Commenting briefly on each constituency, the total figure of registered voters in Marondera East constituency given by the commission is 25,117, but a calculation of the voters from the individual wards tabulated as  1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 19, 20, 21,22 and 23 of Marondera Rural District Council, leaves the number at 22,529 voters.
Conclusion:
There might be an error in the calculations made by ZEC in their preliminary delimitation report as the  figures of registered voters in Mashonaland East Province are not adding up.
ZEC says the Preliminary Delimitation Report is subject to corrections and the commission will consider feedback before producing the final document.
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