Mobile voter registration process a fraud: residents

Residents have raised an outcry at the slow pace with which the ZEC officials are carrying out the registration process. Most registration centers in the city are conspicuous by the long queues of frustrated residents who spend close to eight hours waiting to be served. Some residents who were not persistent gave up on the hope of being registered as they cannot endure the long queues. CHRA has received disturbing reports from its ward leaders who have been observing the events at the registration centers in their local areas.

There are reports that ZANUPF is busing people from the surrounding peri-urban areas to come and register in Harare. For example, Courtney Selous Primary School in Greendale (which is one of the registration centers in Harare) was packed with people who had been bused from Goromonzi; a situation that hindered most of the local residents to register as the queues became more congested.

The same goes for Mabvuku where people were bused from Domboshawa and Goromonzi. Residents pointed out that this is a deliberate ploy by ZANUPF to frustrate the urban electorate whom they know are supportive of MDC-T. One Pastor who requested anonymity said that some of the people who are being bused are not even registering, meaning that they probably would have registered in their local areas but they are being used to frustrate the urban residents who want to register.

CHRA urges ZEC to be more professional and diligent in ensuring that people register in their local areas so as to ensure that all residents have an equal opportunity to exercise their right to vote. The Association also calls on the Principals in the Inclusive Government to intervene and urgently restore sanity in the voter registration process. These unfortunate incidences leave a lot to be desired in the whole electoral process as the principle of fairness is not being employed. CHRA believes that the rights of residents to vote should be respected and that begins with giving them the opportunity to register to exercise that right.