No extension to voter registration

Chronicle Reporters
ZIMBABWE Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson Justice Rita Makarau yesterday said the mandatory 30-day voter registration exercise ended well with the figures on the number of people who registered to vote in the 31 July harmomised elections expected to be released tomorrow.In a telephone interview from Harare, Justice Makarau said the last two days of the exercise saw an increased number of people thronging different centres across the country in a last hour rush to register to vote.

“The mandatory 30-day voter registration process went on smoothly and this time we had deployed more teams in all our centres countrywide. The reports that we have received so far from our officials is that in the last two days, we had an increase in the number of people who came to our centres to register to vote in the elections,” she said.

Justice Makarau said they were now working on a detailed report on what transpired during the exercise. “We are going to compile the statistics on the exact number of registered voters and the figures will be out by Friday.”

Justice Makarau said the registration and voters’ roll inspection had closed, adding that those registered after the deadline would not be able to vote although their names would be added to the roll.

“The law stipulates that voter registration and inspection would end on 9 July and we do not operate outside the law. Those who register after that will remain on the voters roll for future purposes but won’t be able to elect the incoming President, Senators, councillors and National Assembly members,” she said.

Meanwhile, ZEC chief elections officer Mr Lovemore Sekeramayi dismissed allegations that scores of people had failed to register because of ZEC’s inefficiency.

“We are happy that the voter registration process ended well on Tuesday. We, however, would like to disagree with those who claim that they have failed to register because ZEC officials were inefficient.

“In fact, we had few mobile teams because of financial constraints and it was our wish to have at least one team per ward,” said Mr Sekeramayi.
He said the electoral body had since started compiling the names of the registered voters and would soon release the number.

The second phase of the voter registration exercise started on 10 June and ended on Tuesday. The registration centres were opened between 7am and 7pm.

The exercise was part of ZEC’s efforts to ensure that no Zimbabwean was left out in the coming elections.
ZEC had deployed 16 more mobile voter registration and inspection teams in various provinces owing to a huge public demand.

Mr Sekeramayi said ZEC has accredited 25 civil society organisations that would conduct voter education ahead of the polls. He said the accredited organisations met the selection criteria and requirements in line with the electoral laws of the country.

“We invited civic society organisations interested in conducting voter education for the 2013 harmonised elections to submit their applications between 26 May and 1 June and we received quite a number of applications from various organisations.

“ZEC considered the applications for 25 civic organisations that met our selection  criteria and they have been authorised to conduct voter education,” said Mr Sekeramayi.

The organisations that have been accredited are Ark Zimbabwe (Mvuma), Casa Masvingo Entertainment and Sports Association (Masvingo), Citizen Participation Forum (Harare), Centre for Community Development in Zimbabwe (Harare), Civic Education Network Trust (Harare), Gweru East Development Trust, Habakkuk Trust (Bulawayo), Institute for Young Women Development and Musasa Project.

Others include National Disabled Persons Trust, The Women Trust, Organisation for Zimbabwe, Wisdom Institute International Zimbabwe, Voices in the Vision of Africa Registered, Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust, Zimabwe Human Rights, Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust, Zimbabwe National Liberation War Collaborators Association, Zimbabwe Reveal Generations Trust and the Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network (ZESN).