During the referendum, the citizens made their voices heard and voted for the new constitution. That voice was listened to, and the power of that vote has ensured that this constitution is now in place and legally binding. But we cannot rest on our laurels, we must push on and learn from the experience. When we come together, change really can happen; we must continue down that path as our work is far from over if we are to truly deliver the country we all want.
Change can happen
And that means we need to be active in understanding the new regulations and their implications, starting with the procedures for voter registration and voting processes. For the first time in the history of Zimbabwe every citizen over the age of 18 is now eligible to vote, including, women and the ‘alien citizens’ – the farcical term we still use to describe those Zimbabwean’s with a parent or grandparent born outside this country.
The effect the passing of the new constitution will have on the election date is that it will certainly not be on June 29, though when it will be remains undetermined. The country must go to the polls within four months of the dissolution of Parliament, which means if the Government does run its full course the elections must be held by 29 October at the latest.
There are certain prerequisites that will need to take place now before an election can be announced, such as:
• A 30-day voter registration and inspection exercise must be carried out prior to any election.
• Once an election date is proclaimed, a minimum of 44 days (14 days between proclamation of the date and the sitting of the Nomination Court, and a further 30 days between the sitting of the Nomination Court and Polling Day) must elapse before actual voting commences.
Registration vital
This means that for the first time all Zimbabweans now have the right to be heard, the upcoming elections present the opportunity for that. But the registration process first still has to be completed. Despite some misguided beliefs, it is still possible for citizens to register to vote. Any citizen can go to their local Registrar General’s Office and register to vote. Even ‘aliens’ can go the RG office to obtain their new citizen ID and use that ID once received to register to vote. Whilst we are only too aware that the registration process so far for this election has not been straight forward – there have been widely reported incidents of intimidation, irregularities within the voters’ roll and difficulties with the mobile voter registration exercise – we have a far improved set of circumstance which should pave the way for a more reliable and consistent process for future elections.
Zimbabwe, as we all know, is a country that has vast assets, particularly within the natural resources sector and in agriculture; the tourism sector is slowly recovering, highlighted by the United Nations World Tourism’s decision to host its annual conference here this August, and, under the leadership of Finance Minister Tendai Biti, the economy has stabilised.
We are certainly heading in the right direction, but now is no time for apathy or complacency. More than ever we need every Zimbabwean citizen who wants to see our country become the place we all deserve it to be, to be fully active, registered to vote and ready for the battle ahead in order to ensure real change finally happens.
Post published in: News