Mudede (68) has been in charge of all elections since 1985. In March this year he told ZBC radio that the country’s voters’ roll was ‘perfect’ and ruled out any possibilities of rigging through double registration, saying this would be detected by a ‘computer system’.
Before presidential elections in 2002 Mudede told a meeting at the International School in Harare that, “he could imagine no circumstances in which he would declare anyone other than Mugabe the winner.” Only after four court orders were pressure groups able to see a copy of the shambolic voters roll he used.
Last year in June a report by the South African Institute for Race Relations said there were 42,000 people over the age of 100 on the voters roll and that this was an ‘impossible’ number. Some appeared to be 120 years old, in a country with a life expectancy of 43, according to the World Health Organisation. The independent Zimbabwe Election Support Network also noted that nearly a third of registered voters are dead and described the voters roll as a ‘shambles’ that needs to be overhauled before fresh elections are held.
Two separate independent audits have exposed that the voters roll has thousands of ghost voters used to inflate figures for Zanu (PF) and Mugabe. Experts say there are 2.6 million too many names on the voters roll – more than enough to settle the outcome of any election. Mudede’s refusal to relinquish control of the voters roll reinforces suspicions that he is a central player in rigging elections. It’s time for all those who have an interest in ensuring a credible election to be proactive and not start crying foul when these same people have their way at the next poll. – lance@nehandaradio.com; twitter @LanceGuma
Post published in: News