The process kicked off on Monday last week and will end on May 20. It has so far been marked by reports of deliberate exclusion of voters, hostile registration teams, poor information dissemination and alleged partisan deployment of officers from the RG’s department – as well as a widespread no-show in many areas.
In Harare South, Zanu (PF) activists have reportedly mooted a plan to alienate MDC-T supporters from the process by illegally demanding documentation from party officials.
“We are being told that no one will be allowed to register without bringing a letter from the Zanu (PF) leadership in their area. Zanu (PF) members are saying that since most people in Harare South live on farms, proof of residence will have to be in the form of a letter from a Zanu (PF) official,” said one resident from a farm in the constituency, currently held by Zanu (PF’s) Hubert Nyanhongo.
This is in contravention of the Electoral Act that provides that proof of residence letters shall not originate from political parties but from landlords and traditional leaders. There are reports that some Zanu (PF) activists in rural areas are working in cahoots with village leaders to deny the letters to known MDC-T activists.
In some wards, aspiring voters have complained that Zanu (PF) members were misleading them on the venues and dates for mobile registration. There are also claims that the party is conniving with the RG’s office, headed by staunch party supporter Tobaiwa Mudede, to deploy more mobile teams in areas where it dominates.
Most urban constituencies, dominated by MDC-T, recorded a poor presence of the mobile teams. The Director of the Election Resource Centre, Tawanda Chimhini, said: “There are reports that a lot of persons have been deployed in the so called Zanu (PF) strongholds but there is need to ensure the officers are deployed everywhere.”
Meanwhile, the Chiadzwa Community Development Trust, a mining and community rights advocacy group, says the mobile voter registration exercise in Manicaland has been marred by a lack of information. The Trust registered its concerns with the Provincial Registrar but got no positive response.
“The response we got was that it was not the duty of the Provincial Registrar’s office to inform communities about registration points because there were no resources for that,” said the Trust. It gave examples of areas where people had been prejudiced by the current exercise, adding that the mobile teams were avoiding some wards.
“The mobile registration moved from Ward 19 to Mafararikwa in Ward 16 leaving out the nearest Wards 23, 17, 24 and 25. The furthest Wards 29 and 30 are not even aware that there is such an exercise, even if they had transport to go to those areas.
“This on-going registration process seems to be stage managed so that some people are included and others are excluded from exercising their rights to register as voters and vote in the next election,” said the CCDT.
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network welcomed the commencement of the exercise but expressed reservations, saying “there are a number of challenges regarding personnel, funds and other resources resulting in some areas not being fully covered.” ZESN urged a relaxation on the demand for proof of residence.
MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora dismissed the mobile registration process as a sham. “It is our position that Zanu (PF) through Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede’s office wants to rig the election through a forged voters’ roll,” he said.
Mwonzora said most rural wards had been omitted while mobile teams moved at a snail’s pace. He vowed that the election planned for later this year would not take place without the roll being adequately cleaned.
In Bulawayo, the Chairperson of the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations, Effie Ncube, said that most areas had not been visited a week after the exercise began. “We have visited most areas in Bulawayo and we have not seen any of the RG’s officials on the ground,” said Ncube, who is also the Chairperson of the Matabeleland Reform Agenda.
In Manicaland, The Zimbabwean discovered that mobile teams from the RG’s office were minimal, with villagers complaining that they had not been informed of the registration exercise.
“The programme was organized haphazardly and I think most villagers will not be able to register. Some places are inaccessible due to poor networks and this should be taken into consideration,” said an officer from the RG’s office.
Confusion also reigned supreme in Masvingo province, with aspiring voters accusing the RG officers of hostility, an attitude they said resulted in many of them giving up on registering. MDC-T Masvingo urban legislator Tongai Matutu said the hostility had resulted in registration apathy.
“We have some officers in the RG’s office who have become politicians themselves. We have received reports of people being verbally abused by the officers,” said Matutu. He urged those that were ill-treated to report to their political parties for remedial action to be taken.
The Co-Minister of Home Affairs, Kembo Mohadi, said the teams were focusing mainly on remote areas. “We are targeting areas where people are far away from voter registration centres and this is mostly in rural areas,” he said.
In Mashonaland West, Biggie Haurobi, the MDC-T provincial spokesperson said voters from farming areas were being deliberately excluded. He claimed the RG’s officers were ‘’working hard to side-line potential MDC voters’’.
He added that in places where mobile registration was being conducted, only paltry numbers were being served.
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