The final 10-day national mobile biometric voter registration exercise begun yesterday, with some people excited that they will be voting for the first time this year.
The mobile voter registration exercise, which has a budget
of $24 billion and ends on March 21, is being conducted by the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission.
Yesterday, The Herald visited several voter registration
centres in Harare and found that in some areas, people turned up in their
numbers, whilst others recorded low turnout. In separate interviews, the
prospective voters thanked ZEC for affording them an opportunity to register
for the forthcoming elections.
Mr Gibson Nziramasanga of Sunningdale, said: “I am happy
that I managed to register, I will be voting this year for the first time. The
previous blitz was conducted when I was in South Africa and I thought I would
never get the opportunity again.”
Ms Alice Chaonza, who registered at Sunningdale 2, said the
process was slow.
“I came here at 11am, but it is now one 1pm and the queue
is actually moving at a snail’s pace. I do not know what is happening inside,”
she said.
At St Peters Primary School in Mbare, those who wanted to
register for the first time were being told to wait due to technical
challenges, while those transferring their names to new polling stations were
being prioritised.
At centres such as Gwinyai A Primary School in Mbare,
people had turned up in their numbers, but the queue was also moving slowly,
while at Mhizha A Primary School in Highfield, there were less than 10 people.
The situation was different at Chipembere A Primary School
in Highfield, with people expressing satisfaction with the registration
process.
“It is just a matter of minutes,” said Mr Simbarashe
Chibaya. “When I came, there were at least 15 people ahead of me and they have
already been served.”
In an interview, ZEC deputy chairperson, Commissioner
Simukai Rodney Kiwa, said the delays in some areas could have been caused by
equipment challenges.
“It’s unfortunate that you observed slow voter registration
at Mhizha Primary School,” he said. “The Commission believes that it is one of
those few isolated cases of malfunctioning equipment which do not reflect the
overall picture on the ground.
“The reports countrywide indicate that the mobile voter
registration started off very well with most of the centres expecting to
register an average of 50 registrants on the first day.
“Low turnout in Harare and other urban areas may be due to
the fact that most of the residents are already registered. For instance, there
was very little activity at the ZEC Harare provincial and district offices on
the first day of the exercise.”
In Bulawayo, scores of people yesterday visited various
registration centres to get registered, while others were transferring from one
polling station to the other after relocating. Among the new registrants in
Bulawayo was Mr Nathan Gadzi from Njube suburb, who said he wanted to
participate in electoral processes for the first time since the country
obtained independence.“I was out of the country,” he said. “I have been a
resident in South Africa and I only returned here in 2019. I participated in
the first general election that was held in 1980. So, I left after the country
attained independence and I have been living in South Africa ever since.
“I married a South African woman and my children are in
South Africa, but I felt it was time to come back home. So, registering to vote
will enable me to enjoy my full rights as a citizen of Zimbabwe.” Herald
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