Police have also said they will be equal to the task of
ensuring peace prevail during and after the elections urging people to go home
and resume their duties after voting.
The deployment of polling officers mainly drawn from the
civil service is being done simultaneously with the distribution of ballot
papers and other material needed during the election process.
The officers will man the 12 370 polling stations
established countrywide.
ZEC chief elections officer Mr Utloile Silaigwana confirmed
to Sunday News in an interview yesterday that all was set for the Wednesday
harmonised elections saying the deployment would be done in a phased
approach. “The deployment of polling
officers begins today (yesterday) soon after completing training but it is a
process and is dependent on the size of the province. Some have already started
deploying while others will commence deployment tomorrow (today). As they do so
their election material also goes with them.
“We have taken it as a strategy that we deploy materials
and officers to those provinces that are very far and wide in terms of their
geographical distance. Provinces like Matabeleland North and Midlands and so
on, we will be deploying in phases,” said Mr Silaigwana.
He said their last training also included political party
election agents who they wanted to appreciate the polling processes adding that
it was not mandatory for political parties to send their polling agents.
“Our training was also phased, we started with constituency
election officers then followed with ward election officers. We then trained
presiding officers and this last training we just completed was for polling
officers where we also invited political parties’ election agents so that they
appreciate the polling process. However, this was not a must, we just extended
our invitation and some attended but others did not show up. Our aim is to
ensure that all polling officers are at their respective stations by Monday,”
said Mr Silaigwana.
He said in terms of the Electoral Act and for purposes of
the 2023 elections, Minting and Printing Company of Zimbabwe (MPCZ) was given
the mandate to print all ballot papers to be used.
He said a total of 7 126 600 presidential ballot papers
have been printed.
“Seven million and ninety-eight thousand, seven hundred and
fifty (7 098 750) National Assembly ballot papers and six million eight hundred
and sixty-one thousand, six hundred and fifty (6 861 650) local authority
ballot papers have been printed for the conduct of elections on the 23 August
2023,” he said.
He clarified that the number of ballot papers printed for
each of the three elections was different because with respect to the National
Assembly election an independent candidate for Gutu West Nation Assembly
constituency passed away and the election would be conducted on a later date. Sunday News
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