Mudangwe has been religiously voting in every election
since 1980.
“I have never seen anything like this,” the elderly man
said as he waited for voting to start hours after the polling station was
opened.
“Even the 1980 election, which was conducted just after the
war, was more organised than this.
“I have voted in many elections throughout my life, but I
have never experienced such incompetence. We deserve better treatment,
especially at our age.
“This delay is a disgrace to our democracy."
Mudangwe was one of the people who had waited six hours for
the ballot papers to be delivered so that he could vote.
Zimbabweans across the country eagerly awaited the
opportunity to cast their votes in the recent elections, hoping for a smooth
and efficient process.
However, in most Harare areas such as Mufakose, Budiriro,
and Glen Norah, the election day turned into a shambolic affair, with citizens
enduring agonizingly long waiting times.
In Mufakose, a densely populated suburb of Harare, voters
braved the scorching sun and stood in queues for more than 12 hours, testing
their patience to the limit.
Frustration and anger permeated the air as people shared
their grievances about the delays.
Sinikiwe Marozva, a mother of two, shared her
disappointment after spending the whole day at the polling station.
“I woke up early, hoping to cast my vote and go about my
day,” Marozva said.
“Little did I know that I would spend the entire day
standing in a line.
“This is unacceptable! Our voices deserve to be heard, but
this chaotic process is suppressing our rights.”
In Budiriro, Ronald Gedza, a taxi driver, thought that he
would just cast his vote and go back to work.
“I have lost a day's worth of income because of this
disorganised voting process,” Gedza said.
“How am I supposed to provide for my family when I am
forced to wait in a queue for hours on end?”
Like thousands who waited to exercise their right at Cold
Comfort Primary School polling station, the delay in opening of the station
frustrated, Sibongile Maneto,
To add to her worries was the fact that she had left her
baby at home in anticipation of a quick and smooth flowing voting process.
“I came here by 6am to join the queue before many people so
I could rush home to my one-month-old baby,” Maneto said.
Voting at her
polling station was declared open at 8:15pm and was scheduled to end the
following morning after the 12-hour period.
Many women waited patiently for their turn to vote, with
some leaving way after midnight, risking their lives in the not-so-friendly
environments.
The lengthy delays finally took a toll on many of the women
waiting for the ballot papers to be delivered and some of them eventually
returned home to take care of the unfinished business.
“I had no option but to go back home to my baby,” Maneto
said.
“I failed to come back as I heard that the ballot papers
came well after dark.
“I’m in pain as I was hoping to exercise my right for the
first time.”
In Glen View, 70-year-old Gogo Shorai Nyemba sat on the
pavement of a shop at Glen View shops waiting for the announcement that they
could vote.
Unlike her male agemates, she is now frail and clearly
needs rest.
Nyemba endured the uncomfortable situation as she was
determined to cast her vote and make changes that would benefit her grandchildren.
“I am diabetic and I cannot manage anymore, but I have to
endure until they call us to start voting,” she said.
“I have waited for five years for this day so I will not
give up. I came here before 6am, but the long waiting hours are becoming unbearable.”
Luckily for her,
when the ballot papers for Glen View finally arrived shortly after 3pm, elderly
women were given first priority to vote.
In most of the polling stations that voted at night, many
women could be seen with children in tow or on their backs.
While there was frustration, a sense of camaraderie was on
show in Warren Park, where voters talked about their daily struggles.
There was a mini-picnic at Haig Park School as some
prospective voters brought burgers to share while waiting to vote.
However, reports emerged of a shadowy group called Forever
Associates Zimbabwe (Faz), a Zanu PF affiliate group, intimidating voters in
various polling stations.
Zec failed to provide ballot papers at several polling
stations in Harare and Bulawayo when voting started at 7am on Wednesday.
Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa,
said the disruptions in Harare and Bulawayo, the opposition party’s
strongholds, were meant to deliberately frustrate his supporters from voting.
Zec acknowledged the delays, but blamed them on several
court cases against it for delaying the printing of ballot papers.
Several observer missions expressed concern over the delay
in starting the voting process at many polling stations especially in urban
areas.
“Some polling stations opened more than 12 hours after the
stipulated time,” head of South African
Development Community Election Observer Mission Nevers Mumba said on Friday.
“The reason provided by Zec for this unprecedented
development was the unavailability of ballot papers, particularly for the local
authority elections, and also due to previous litigation.
“On the basis of these two considerations, the subsequent
information from Zec that they did not have adequate ballot papers has the
unfortunate effect of creating doubts about the credibility of this electoral
process.”
The African Union-Common Market for Eastern and Southern
Africa observer mission led by former
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan also expressed concern.
“The mission further notes that Zec was not fully
prepared,” Jonathan said. “This disenfranchised voters from voting in the first
place.”
AU said that the delay in delivering ballot papers cast
doubt in the credibility of polls.
Zanu PF reacted angrily to the Sadc report.
“We are dismissive of the rumblings, the mouthing of
Mumba,” Zanu PF spokesman Christopher Mutsvangwa told a press conference in
Harare, describing the head of the Sadc mission as a biased “preacher”.
Zimbabwe has a history of disputed elections that dates
back to the Robert Mugabe era. Standard
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