While the Electoral Amendment Act of 2012 prohibits the presence of police officers in polling stations, the Referendums Act is silent on it and does not provide for voting regulations.
Already, sources in Masvingo Urban say a voter was arrested after he asked that a police officer at a polling station be removed. The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights have dispatched a lawyer to represent the arrested aspiring voter.
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition spokesperson, Thabani Nyoni, says his organisation is worried by the deployment of police officers inside polling stations, as that is against the law and tends to cow voters.
“We are worried by the presence of police officers inside polling stations because it is illegal, and civil-military relations in Zimbabwe are strained. Their presence is clearly an act of intimidation,” Nyoni told The Zimbabwean.
In urban Chitungwiza and rural Seke, several stations each had a police detail inside the polling stations while two were stationed outside.
Sources travelling around rural areas such as Chivi, Shurugwi, Zvishavane, Zvimba and Gokwe told The Zimbabwean that stations were manned by police officers in addition to polling officers.
“This is intimidatory, especially in rural areas. While there might not be much of a fuss during the referendum that all the major parties have endorsed, the situation will be different during elections.
“The presence of police officers is unsettling to rural voters and they should be stationed outside,” said a prominent Harare businessman who had gone to vote in his home constituency in Chivi in Masvingo province over the phone.
Even though it is permitted by the Electoral Amendment Act, the businessman expressed reservation over the requirement for voters to display their marked ballots—albeit folded—to the Presiding Officer.
“Again, this intimidates voters who may have been led to believe that their votes can be detected. Remember, the ballots have serial numbers and it is easy to trace the person who would have cast his or her vote.
“This all goes to show that there is no secrecy during ballot casting. When general election time comes, voters in rural areas will be cowed.
Remember, some of the polling officers would be people who would have been victimised them in the past. That means the process of voting cannot be free and fair if the law remains like that,” he added.
Voting will end this evening after which counting of ballots will begin, with results expected within five days.
Post published in: News