Wezulu, now resident in Zengeza 4 in Chitungwiza, said after witnessing violence among members of her community, she made the resolution that it was not worth taking part in the electoral process.
Zimbabwe recorded the highest voter turnout in the 1980 elections, according to statistics released by the 2011 International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) report. Analysts attributed the high turnout to the lack of restrictions attached to the registration process, while others argue that it was a reflection of a people united to oust the colonial regime.
Less than 50% votes
IDEA reports that since then, voter turnout has not exceed 50 percent of the number of registered voters. The report says only 40, 81 percent of registered voters cast their vote In the 2008 parliamentary elections, which translated to 2,421,973 out of the 5, 934,768 registered voters, against an estimated population of around 12,4 million.
A survey by The Zimbabwean revealed that the majority of those old enough to vote is not even aware of where to find the registration centres and what is required to register as a voter.
Citizens cited the whole electoral system, starting with the “cumbersome process of registration”, as the major source of voter apathy in Zimbabwe. They said the Registrar General’s office was a barrier to their effective participation in elections and alleged that officials at offices countrywide had a habit of ‘tossing citizens from one centre to the next’.
Forty-year-old Dambudzo Shereni from Epworth in Harare said replacing a lost identity document to enable her to register to vote marked the beginning of a laborious process of renouncing her citizenship.
“20 years after being issued with a Zimbabwean ID, I was told that I was an ‘alien’. The process of renouncing one’s citizenship is expensive and time consuming,” she said.
Patricia Mukuku bemoaned the current state of the voter’s roll and said until there was a cleanup of the roll she would not vote.
Clean up the voters’ roll
“There is a lot of talk about elections yet the voters roll is still in shambles. The disappointment I felt in 2008 when my name disappeared from the voters roll on voting day, after having gone through the registration process, is still vivid in my mind,” she said.
Thirty-four-year-old Gladson Musaerenge from Harare said, unless political parties tabled realistic manifestos that indicated development agendas for the majority, she would not vote.
“This time, they (politicians) have to tell us clear cut mechanisms that they have put in place to ensure that there is equitable distribution of wealth. We are tired of bearing the brunt of political retribution at the expense of politicians,” she said.
20-year old Angeline Muchenje from Seke said while she acknowledged it was the duty of every citizen to vote, it was the government’s responsibility to ensure the political climate was conducive for the electorate to cast his or her vote.
She cited political violence in past elections as a potential source of voter apathy and said the “electorate would rather concentrate on the bread and butter issues affecting them, than get involved in elections”.
“Politicians called for political tolerance but that failed to yield the intended results in the past elections. People were butchered and maimed over their political affiliation. It is not worth it,” she said.
She said failure by political parties to adhere to the law and the absence of clear-cut mechanisms to ensure that there is no political retribution prevented her from participating in elections.
Access issues
No provision for people with disabilities is a deterrent for 50-year-old Goodson Moyo of Mberengwa.
“The only challenge for me is that I have to make my way back to my rural home so that I am in a position to choose my leaders,” he said.
He cited the long distances to polling stations as a reason he failed to participate in the 2008 presidential elections.
MDC Elections Director, Ellen Shiriyedenga, said while the majority of the electorate were looking forward to the forthcoming elections, there were critical logistical issues that should be addressed before people go to the polls.
“The whole electoral process should be under the mandate of ZEC and there is a need to capacitate ZEC so that it is able to fulfill its mandate,” she said.
She said in past elections, registered voters were turned away at the polling stations after their names could not be found on the voters’ roll. She said this was because “the RG’ s office does not have the capacity to give the country a clean voters roll.”
Shiriyedenga acknowledged the existence of a certain percentage of the electorate who had “lost hope in the whole electoral process as a way of bringing about political change”. She reiterated that failure by political parties to adhere to the law and deliver on party manifestos provided for the greatest challenge to active participation of the electorate in polls.
Mobile centres
Zapu Election Director, Patron Nketa, said: “Our party is advocating for mobile registration centres. Issues of accessibility not only affect people going to the polling stations but also their ability to register,” he said.
Zanu (PF) National Chairperson Simon Khaya Moyo, is on record acknowledging voter apathy in the 2008 elections in a local daily newspaper. He attributed it to the imposition of candidates.
“Out of the 30,000 registered voters in a certain constituency, only 7,000 voted, meaning that 23,000 or so stayed away.”
Zimbabwe Election Support Network says a lack of clear development agendas by political parties “has the potential to create election fatigue”.
ZESN Director, Rindai Chipfunde-Vava, told The Zimbabwean: “Parties should come up with manifestos that address the high poverty and unemployment levels. Voter apathy is also caused by violence and the intimidation of the electorate along political lines.”
She said the possible implications of voter apathy were run- off violence and another disputed election.
“If this issue in not addressed then we stand the chance of having an inconclusive election that would lead to post-election violence,” said Chipfunde-Vava.
Post published in: News