MDC Alliance spokesperson Welshman Ncube has urged the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) to urgently address opposition coalition
leader Nelson Chamisa’s complainants over ballot paper printing or risk a
national shutdown by disgruntled voters.
Ncube made the remarks while addressing MDC Alliance rally
in Ntepe, Matabeleland South province on Saturday.
“I want to talk about the ballot paper printing. Those who
listen to the news and read newspapers, you heard Advocate Chamisa on Wednesday
saying if the issue of ballot is not resolved, there will be no election, not
that we will boycott the election, but there will be no election,” he said.
“The ballot is important because the vote that must be on
the ballot is the vote from you. The X that you place on the ballot is the one
that should take someone to State House. Not the X that is put at KGIV (army
headquarters) in which the ballot is put secretly and when you put your X later
on your X disappears and the one put at KGIV is activated.
Those who did chemistry know the chemical reaction and with
the ballot paper it is possible that they can do so.”
He said it was important that when the ballot papers were
transported from the polling stations, party agents must be there, observing
that they are not changed along the way. Ncube said this was the other way to
guard against theft of votes.
“That is why we say what they are doing to print the ballot
alone no, no, no. We are saying the ballot printed where we are not there will
certainly not be used in the July 30 election, we are not saying we will
boycott, but we say there will be no elections,” Ncube said without clarifying
how they would block the polls.
“They have started cheating with the ballot. Even the
greatest old vote rigger, Robert Mugabe used to follow the alphabet starting
from the top downwards. The one for (Priscilla) Chigumba (Zec chairperson) she
has started from number one to nine and went ahead to place Mnangagwa who is
number 10 who is now at the top in the second column. If you subtract nine from
23 it’s equal to 14. If you want to make the ballot short, you cut it from half
way, you do not cut it at nine so that President Emmerson (Mnangagwa is at the
top so that when one looks at the paper first sees his name when his surname
starts with an M and is supposed to be at the bottom. They have started
cheating and we are saying we will not allow that.”
Ncube’s remarks came at a time Zec has rapped the MDC
Alliance for making what it called “frivolous” complaints against the electoral
body indicating that it would not give in to such demands. Newsday
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