No Need To Panic Over Voters' Roll Anomalies - ZEC
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has sought to assure prospective voters that they will not be disenfranchised amid reports that some names are missing from the voters’ roll while other voters have been transferred to polling stations more than 60km away from their places of residence.
ZEC Chief Elections Officer Utloile Silaigwana told State media that ZEC will rectify any anomalies that will be detected during the ongoing voters roll inspection exercise.
ZEC opened the voters’ roll for inspection on Saturday and the process which was supposed to end on 31 May is now ending on 01 June.
The electoral management body said that it has opened more than 11 000 centres countrywide to enable voters who registered on or before 28 April to check their registration details. Said Silaigwana:
Why does ZEC take the voters’ roll to the people? It is because we want the voters themselves who are the owners of the voters’ roll to audit the roll by checking their names and their details.
They should check whether they are placed in the correct polling station, ward and constituency.
In the event there are anomalies detected by the voters, ZEC will ensure they are corrected.
Perhaps it is very important that the electorate at large and our people in Zimbabwe know that recently we had a very important exercise which is the delimitation exercise.
The latest delimitation exercise was done more than 13 years after the one done between 2007 and 2008.
The demographics have changed, and people have moved. People who voted at Luveve Primary School in the last elections might find themselves at Mafakela Primary School due to the delimitation. I’m just giving an example.
What people should therefore appreciate is that the movement of voters is inevitable due to the delimitation exercise.
Probably some people could have gone to the places where they usually vote but because of the delimitation exercise, they might have been moved.
There is no need for anyone to press a panic button because these anomalies that I’m talking about can be corrected.
Those no longer appearing, if there are such cases, can come to ZEC and complete a form to ensure the anomalies are corrected.
Our mandate is to enfranchise and facilitate the voting of all registered voters hence we will attend to all anomalies identified.
Silaigwana said the proclamation of the election date by President Emmerson Mnangagwa marks the start of the election period. He said:
This will be followed by a number of activities. When His Excellency proclaims the date of the election the voters’ roll closes two days after that.
This means you cannot register for this election two days after the proclamation but you can still register for the next election.
Silaigwana said the proclamation of the election date will be followed by the sitting of the Nomination Court.
After the sitting of the Nomination Court, ZEC will then print the ballot papers, he added.
More: Pindula News
