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Section 6(3) of the new Constitution will start next Monday and end on July 9.
Registrar General of Voters Mr Tobaiwa Mudede yesterday said voter registration teams would be deployed next Sunday with four teams to cover all wards in a given district.
“The Registrar of Voters wishes to inform the public that there will be a national mobile registration exercise,” he said. “This exercise will commence on Monday 10 June 2013 to 9 July 2013.”
Mr Mudede urged aspiring voters to bring relevant documents to enable them to register and vote.
“All aspiring registrants should provide the required information to facilitate the registration process,” he said. “In the event of any queries arising, members should approach the relevant team leaders or district registrars for guidance and assistance.”
The required documents include proof of residence, but in the event that one fails to produce such proof, they could complete an affidavit form where they would declare their personal details and signed by a commissioner of oaths.
He encouraged people to inspect the voters’ roll to make sure their details were correct.
Mr Mudede said the mobile voter registration centres would be open from 7am up to 7pm during week days and from 7am up to 5pm on weekends.
Apart from voter registration, Mr Mudede said people would also have an opportunity to acquire national identity documents and birth registration certificates. The mobile voter registration is part of the country’s preparations for harmonised elections due by July 31.
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Meanwhile, leaders of five political parties, the MDC-T, MDC, Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn, Zapu and Zanu Ndonga met in Harare yesterday and said they would take part in the harmonised elections after the implementation of ‘‘reforms’’.
The meeting was attended by MDC-T president Morgan Tsvangirai, MDC vice-president Edwin Mushoriwa, MKD president Dr Simba Makoni, Zapu president Dumiso Dabengwa and Zanu Ndonga president Reketayi Semwayo who all said they wanted the deadline of the elections extended.
“The leaders affirmed their commitment and readiness to participate in a credible, free and fair election after the implementation of the necessary reforms,” read a statement they released after the meeting.
Some of the reforms they demanded include a minimum 30-day period for voter registration, amendments to national laws, including the Public Order and Security Act and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and access to the public media.
The parties also want members of the security sector to sign a code of conduct in line with the new Constitution and called on the Government to ensure that elections would be free and fair.
“The leaders expressed reservations about the practicality of the July 31 deadline set by the court and resolved that they would communicate their position to Sadc,” they said.
“The parties, therefore, look forward to the extraordinary Sadc Summit to affirm previous Sadc resolutions and the agreed roadmap to elections.”
Dr Makoni, however, admitted that the timelines could be shortened.
“Timelines can be shortened and it is feasible given political will,” he said.
President Mugabe recently said he had no wish to defy the courts after previously seeking postponement of by-elections in three constituencies.
The High Court last year ordered that elections be held in Nkayi South, Bulilima East and Lupane East after a challenge by three former MDC members (Abednico Bhebhe, Njabuliso Mguni and Norman Mpofu) who lost their seats after they were fired by the party.
Speaking to Zimbabwean journalists on the sidelines of the recently held Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Japan, President Mugabe said: “Now they (the three former legislators) had their further right to become Members of Parliament once again if by-elections were announced, but we didn’t provide that opportunity and we were guilty of actually offending against the law.
“So they went to the court for the court to decide on their right and for the court to enable them to fight back to Parliament and this meant that the court would compel the President to make a proclamation.
“We didn’t provide that. We appealed to the court to enable us to combine those by-elections under a general election and we thought the general election would be forthcoming.
“We asked for certain dates and those dates were not possible, we asked again the courts to grant us a postponement and the postponement was finally granted up to the 29th of June.”
President Mugabe said he did not want to continue defying court orders and would, therefore, comply with the July 31 deadline.
“Now you have this other individual asking on an emergency basis for the court to compel the President to make a declaration so elections could be held and then it is this decision that we must obey and I don’t want to offend against the law,” he said.
“We have offended against the law about twice asking for postponement.”
The position by the five parties comes on the backdrop of statements in support of the ruling by other members of society that include business leaders and various other political parties and churches.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti also acknowledged recently that the lack of clarity on the dates of elections was hampering economic recovery as most businesses had adopted a wait and see attitude.
Online Reporter