ONLY 82 people have registered tp vote in Bulawayo over the two months from 1 April 2021 to 31 May 2021, sparking fears that most constituencies in the Matabeleland region will be collapsed and merged in the 2023 elections as the delimitation exercise is guided by the number of registered voters.
The fear that several constituencies could be collapsed and merged has gripped the opposition MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa, which counts Bulawayo as its stronghold.
Bulawayo based journalist Zenzele Ndebele said constituencies in the region were at risk of being reduced in the next elections.
The delimitation exercise is already underway and it seeks to revise the constituency boundaries for the next elections based on number of registered voterd per constituency.
Only 82 people registered to vote in Mat South between April 1 to May 31 2021. At this rate #Bulawayo, Mat North and Mat South are likely to lose many constituencies #Asakhe
— Zenzele (@zenzele) June 15, 2021
In the 2023 elections, Matabeleland South had 13 constituencies, 11 of which were won by Zanu-PF. Matabeleland North had 13 as well and Zanu-PF won in 8 of them.
MDC-A Bulawayo Province continues to encourage Bulawayo city residents to register to vote. Attached is a picture showing youths parading their voter registration slips outside the ZEC offices in Bulawayo’s Famona suburb today.#CitizensConvergenceForChange#RegisterToVoteZW pic.twitter.com/AjcPCMC2vI
— MDC Alliance Bulawayo Province (@mdc_bulawayo) June 14, 2021
There has been spirited campaigns by the MDC Alliance on the streets and suburbs in and around Bulawayo for people to go and register to vote, but voter apathy is apparently taking hold as residents are frustrated by poort service delivery among other frustrations.
Some have suggested that residents of Matabeleland have since placed hope in other things such as moving on with their lives or crossing the border as one crop of politicians after another has failed to resolve theit concerns.