According to villagers who spoke to The Zimbabwean this week, the soldiers threatened villagers with surveillance cameras at polling points, to check who they voted for.
“They have been going around checking who has registered for the elections and who has not,” said a villager who lives in the Wovi area, 68km south of Bulawayo.
“They have also instructed the local traditional leaders to make sure that everyone is registered for the elections. We have no choice but to follow their orders.”
The villagers said traditional leaders had also advised them to comply with the soldiers’ directive to prevent “loss of lives”.
“Most of the headmen here do not approve of what the soldiers are doing, but have told us to comply so that we do not lose our lives. The elderly have not come under much of the force in terms of registration because they have always voted and are therefore, still registered.”
“It is the youth and first time voters that have faced a number of threats,” said another villager.
A village head in Wovi confirmed that they were told to make sure their subjects voted for Mugabe’s party.
“They told us that there would be cameras at the polling points, so that those who vote against President Mugabe would be dealt with afterwards. We don’t know what the truth is anymore because we are told a number of different things,” he said.
MDC national chairman, Lovemore Moyo, said he did not know about the threats but could not rule out the possibility that such intimidation was happening.
Post published in: News