9 HH 307-18 HC 4863/18 Yours faithfully Mrs Priscilla M. Chigumba (J) CHAIRPERSON ZIMBABWE ELECTORAL COMMISSION It is evident from a reading of the correspondence that the applicant requested the respondent to furnish it with a copy of the Provisional Voters Roll referred to as having been opened for public inspection. The expressed purposes of requiring a copy of the Provisional Voters Roll were inter-alia, to enable stakeholders like the applicant to “track any changes to the data collected at registration with the final voters roll” to be used in the 2018 elections. The applicant submitted in its letter that the provision to it of the Provisional Voters Roll was consistent with transparency and accountability as well as the verifiability of work being done by the respondent on the Voters Roll. The applicant emphasized on the need to build public confidence and ultimately the credibility of elections. The applicant undertook to use whatever information it gathered from the Provisional Voters Roll to support the respondent’s finalization of the final Voters Roll. The respondent refused to accede to the applicant’s request. In refusing to provide the copies, the respondent did not plead that the requested for Provisional Voters Roll was not available. In fact, it would have been absurd for the respondent to argue so because its statement inviting inspection of the Provisional Voters Roll is clear that there is in existence, a public document, viz, a Provisional Voters Roll opened for inspection. Whether the Roll is in electronic form in that the inspection process entailed punching details into the computer and information would reflect on screen which is then used to verify the correctness of captured data, or the roll is printed on paper is neither here nor there. I say so because there is acceptance by the parties and in legislation, in particular, the Electoral Act, [Chapter 2:13] that information may be printed or electronic. Mr Kanengoni submitted that the verification exercise being carried out by the respondent was work in progress and that the reference to a Provisional Voters Roll was in fact a reference to captured data which was being subjected to correction so that a proper Provisional Voters Roll would then be prepared, followed by the gazetting of the Final Voters Roll. Mr Kanengoni submitted that the applicants’ request was very much like the case of a litigant or other interested