CHIREDZI – A few people have so far registered to vote in the Zanu PF stronghold of Chiredzi North, and this is a far cry of the 30 000 who voted the party in the 2013 harmonised elections.
The situation is bound to make the ruling party panic with Ronald Ndaba who is the party’s provincial secretary for information complaining to The Mirror that a large number of the rural voters will not be able to register under the BVR programme because of a myriad of problems that they face.
Ndaba complained that the registration process was slow. He said commissioners of oaths who are supposed to certify documents required under the BVR system were hard to come by, the distance to the registration centers were long and it was difficult for villagers to get identity cards with allegations that officials from the registrar’s office were asking for bribes.
Ndava told The Mirror in an interview that it was clear that many voters will not be able to register by the time the voter registration exercise winds up.
“As a party we are not happy with the pace at which ZEC is registering people during the ongoing voter registration process. There are no commissioners of oaths in rural areas. In Chiredzi North for example Zanu PF garnered 30 000 votes in 2013 but I am sure the whole constituency has not registered. A few people are being registered daily because of a myriad of challenges including getting proof of residence and national IDs,” said Ndava.
MDC-T Masvingo Provincial Spokesperson Dust Zivhave concurred with Ndava saying voter registration is being hindered by the unavailability of commissioners of oaths at registration centers. He alleged that village heads were frog marching villagers to registration centers, a development which he said is suspicious.