Zimbabweans are showing resilience and eagerness to vote in the upcoming elections despite the latest voter registration blitz facing a number of challenges.
The country will head for the polls between 26 July and 26 August, with so much at stake as both the ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition, CCC look to outdo each other in key battle areas.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced that the blitz was being affected by power shortages in some parts of the country, a move which has not stopped a huge influx of aspiring voters.
The commission set aside 4474 centres across the country for the exercise but according to an election watchdog, the Election Resource Centre (ERC) this is still low due to high turnouts.
‘These centres are insufficient as potential voters and those who want to change polling stations still must travel a considerable distance to reach these designated registration centres.
“While we applaud the Electoral Commission in rolling out this final blitz before the 2023 Harmonized elections, we urge the Commission to further decentralize the voter registration process before the President proclaims the election date,” ERC said in a statement.
People who are already registered can also go to these centres and re-register if they wish to change the constituencies, in which they want to vote in.
The election lobby group further noted that the list of registration centres was publicized late, and this may have contributed to the low turnout witnessed in some parts of the country on the first day of the blitz.
“We urge the Electoral Commission to increase the number of days and voter registration centres before the President proclaims,” the statement reads.
Some aspiring voters are seeing their hopes of registering to fade due to the several requirements needed for one to attain a national identification card.
“I haven’t registered to vote due to stringent requirements for me to get documentation. My hope is that the civil registration department can assist me to get the required documentation so that I exercise my constitutional right to register to vote” a Bulawayo resident said.
Hugh Jarse / March 16, 2023
IF and UNLESS, vote fraud is stopped, and there are credible alternatives on the card, there’s not much point! None of you have done, or will do, ANYTHING, to counter vote fraud, and, as proven in the last election, little interest was shown in either voting out murderous, destructive zpf, and cde chamisa’s stupid, greedy and hell-bent efforts to retain his one seat, didn’t help matters either! When will you stupids do something, indeed ANYTHING, to get yourselves out of zpf’s destructive, murderous grip, or are content to let them carry on, destroying Zimbabwe? What you’ve said and done nothing to stop, since the 1980’s, will continue, and more ruin will follow, unless you lot stop taking the stupid pills, and make a plan to get out of the mess you’ve inflicted on yourselves, by yourselves!
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