Quandary for voters as registration set to end on 2 June

Following the proclamation of the election date by the President, voter registration will close on Friday 2 June 2023 in terms of the law.

As law experts say, there is a window period for citizens to register, despite the fact that the process is in shambles.

Political commentator Dr Pedzisai Ruhanya has called on fellow to register to vote, he says polls without democracy must be defeated by a defiant, massive and vigilant voter, one who does not tolerate manipulation but celebrates peaceful democratic elections even under massive illicit voters roll rigmarole.

He adds that rigged elections can still be won, as long as citizens remain vigilant.

Dr Ruhanya says voters’ roll has been under the supervision of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, a body constitutionally mandated to organise free and fair elections, but for the past 20 years it has mismanaged the polls, caused electoral manipulation and led to disputed elections because ZANU PF has infiltrated and captured.

Apparently, Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) deputy president Tendai Biti has bemoaned the involvement of a ZANU PF linked institution Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ) into the country’s elections.

“There is political interference in Zimbabwe’s election delivery system by a shadowy group known as FAZ.

“We recognize & respect Security Forces set up in Chapter 11 of the Constitution, namely the Army, Police, Prisons & the Intelligence Services. FAZ is not a constitutional body,” he says.

Meanwhile, Team Pachedu has called on ZEC to sort its website so that Zimbabweans abroad who registered to vote could inspect the voters’ roll.

“Zimbabweans in the diaspora who registered to vote want to check their voter registration details.

“They have no other way to check except the BVR website https://bvrinspection.zec.org.zw.

“However, it has been offline since last year. Please resolve this ASAP,” says Team Pachedu.

Be that as it may, a number of people have reportedly noticed that their names are not in the voters roll.

One such person CCC deputy spokesperson Gift Ostallos Siziba says the shambolic voters’ roll by ZEC will affect voter turnout as they will be forced to move around in search of respective polling stations.

Zwnews