adminZimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson Justice Rita Makarau told members of political parties in Harare yesterday that all new registrants starting tomorrow would only participate in future elections.
“Tomorrow, the voters’ roll officially closes for this election,” she said.
“This means that any person who is not captured by tomorrow on the voters’ roll will not be able to participate in the forthcoming elections but will remain on the voters’ roll and maybe able to participate in future electoral events.
“But the voters’ roll for this election closes tomorrow, the 10th of July.
“Those are important dates in our diaries at ZEC and they should be important in your diaries as political parties.”
Justice Makarau said the Registrar General of Voters agreed to serve all people who were in queues at the voter registration centres by end of business yesterday.
She said the closure of the mobile voter registration was an important event on the electoral calendar.
“Today (yesterday) we all know that the 30-day voter registration is going to end,” she said.
“What this means is that those who want to vote in that window which we were given by the Constitution can only vote up to close of business today (yesterday).
“I am happy to announce that the Registrar General of Voters has graciously accepted that all persons who will be in the queues at the time that the registration centres close shall be served even if it takes his officers long to do so.
“They are going to serve all persons who will be in the queues at the time that they close because we realised that this is the closure of an important window for most Zimbabweans to register to vote in the forthcoming elections.”
Justice Makarau dismissed allegations that the special voting facility scheduled for July 14 and 15 would be abused.
She said ZEC had put in place various mechanisms to ensure that the process would be free and fair.
Justice Makarau said the votes would be under the safeguard of the ZEC chief elections officer until the voting day.
She said there should be a certificate from the chief elections officer or the commanding officer of a disciplined force member stating that the applicant for special voting would be deployed away from his or her ward on the voting day.
Justice Makarau said all applications should be open to inspection by members of the public as a measure of safeguarding the special voting facility.
“The law provides that it is a criminal offence for both the applicant and the chief elections officer, applicant and the commanding officer to make a false statement with regards to the applications.
Not only are we relying on their integrity that they will tell us the truth when they certify that the person applying is a member qualifying to access the facility, but that they respect the law. Failure to do so will result in the law taking its course,” she said.
She said all applicants would only vote at the district centres assigned by ZEC.
Justice Makarau said those authorised to vote under the special voting facility would not be allowed to vote on July 31.
She said the special votes would be counted together with the other votes on July 31.
Justice Makarau said the number of approved persons who would vote under the special voting facility would be made public.
She said the ballot papers would be transported from polling stations to the chief elections officer for onward submission to the wards where the applicants were registered in tamper proof envelopes.
Justice Makarau said the tamper proof envelopes would be sealed in the presence of election agents who would be entitled to sign their names on the seal.
Meanwhile, the intensive mobile voter registration and inspection of the voters’ roll ended yesterday with a huge turnout as people rushed to beat the deadline for the exercise.
In Harare yesterday scores of people the mobile centres to inspect, register or change their citizenship.
At Rugare Government Primary School in Harare, people had already formed a long queue as early as 7.30am.
Most of the people were registering to vote and inspect the roll, while a sizeable group were changing citizenship and acquiring new national identity documents.
“We are happy with the officials, they are fast. The process is going on smoothly,” Mr Tendai Mutema of Rugare who had visited the centre to inspect the voters’ rolls said.
It was also the same at other centres in Kambuzuma and Budiriro Community Halls.
Several people were waiting patiently in long meandering queues for their turn to be served.
The Marlborough High and Epworth Secondary schools mobile centres were equally busy as people rushed to beat the registration deadline.
The mobile voter registration and inspection of the roll began after the publication of the new Constitution on May 22.
ZEC said 204 000 new voters registered in the opening phase, which ran from April 29 to May 19, while 273 319 others registered to vote by June 26 under the intensive phase.
Online Reporter