BY GIBBS DUBE
Opposition parties, nongovernmental organizations and others are worried that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is failing to provide the country’s voters’ roll at some inspection centers as the nation inches closer to crucial council, parliamentary and presidential elections.
Felix Magalela Mafa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) said ZEC is deliberately derailing the electoral process for the benefit of the ruling party.
“There is a crisis in Bulawayo where ZEC is failing to provide the voters’ roll in some centers for people to check their names. Up to this time, certain centers haven’t received the voters’ roll to allow citizens to check their names and verify their particulars so they can vote in the forthcoming general elections.”
He said his town has been monitoring the exercise in Zimbabwe’s second largest city where hundreds of people have been turned away at inspection centers. They camped outside those centers until they gave up.
“We observed some people lingering around the centers but left when there was no voters’ roll. ZEC is incapacitated and this is very alarming because some nations donated funds for running these electoral processes.
The voter inspection exercise started a few days ago and ends Wednesday.
But Matabeleland North regional minister, Richard Moyo, said the voters’ inspection exercise is going on well in his province.
“People started inspecting names on their voters roll today and it seems everything is running smoothly,” said Moyo.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to announce the date of the elections on Monday despite challenges being faced by ZEC.
Slightly over 6,000 Zimbabweans are registered on the country’s voters’ roll, which has not been officially distributed to stakeholders-VOA