News / National
'Mugabe employing guerilla tactics on voters' roll'
15 Sep 2017 at 06:42hrs | Views
The main opposition MDC-T has accused President Robert Mugabe and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) of employing guerilla tactics on the voters' roll after the launch of the biometric voter registration (BVR) exercise suffered a false start on the day it was officially launched in the capital yesterday.
Zec chairperson Rita Makarau announced that nationwide voter registration would only begin on Monday when the commission would deploy kits to its 63 offices covering all districts in the country.
"Continuous voter registration will commence at all Zec district offices with effect from Monday, we will be utilising some of the kits we have received so far," she said.
"These kits that we are going to be sending to the district offices will remain at those centres permanently for continuous voter registration even beyond the 2018 harmonised elections."
Makarau said the mobile voter registration centres would be launched mid-October at centres which are yet to be announced.
MDC-T secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora said the proclamation was clear that voter registration should start yesterday, yet only a few people were being registered.
"Mugabe and Zec are employing guerilla warfare with the voters' roll, they said it would be opened today, but there is no registration taking place outside State House and here at Rainbow Towers. This is why we have approached the courts to seek to invalidate the proclamation," he said.
This was after Zec launched the registration process only at State House and Rainbow Towers, where selected people such as Mugabe and First Lady Grace Mugabe and Vice-Presidents Emmerson Mnangagwa and Phelekezela Mphoko and their wives, among others, registered to vote.
The MDC-T has taken Mugabe and Zec to court in an urgent application, which seeks to nullify the proclamation and to also push the commission to clear the air on the central server system, which continues to draw controversy.
Launching the BVR exercise, Mugabe said he had set yesterday as the official day for commencement of registration.
"On the advice of Zec, I officially marked today (yesterday) as the day on which BVR will officially commence.
"Zec has requested that today, I and the First Family, be registered to mark the beginning of the process.
"I have also invited the Vice-Presidents and their wives and the senior officials in my office, including the ministers and their families, to participate in the excise," he said.
Zec chairperson Rita Makarau announced that nationwide voter registration would only begin on Monday when the commission would deploy kits to its 63 offices covering all districts in the country.
"Continuous voter registration will commence at all Zec district offices with effect from Monday, we will be utilising some of the kits we have received so far," she said.
"These kits that we are going to be sending to the district offices will remain at those centres permanently for continuous voter registration even beyond the 2018 harmonised elections."
Makarau said the mobile voter registration centres would be launched mid-October at centres which are yet to be announced.
MDC-T secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora said the proclamation was clear that voter registration should start yesterday, yet only a few people were being registered.
"Mugabe and Zec are employing guerilla warfare with the voters' roll, they said it would be opened today, but there is no registration taking place outside State House and here at Rainbow Towers. This is why we have approached the courts to seek to invalidate the proclamation," he said.
This was after Zec launched the registration process only at State House and Rainbow Towers, where selected people such as Mugabe and First Lady Grace Mugabe and Vice-Presidents Emmerson Mnangagwa and Phelekezela Mphoko and their wives, among others, registered to vote.
The MDC-T has taken Mugabe and Zec to court in an urgent application, which seeks to nullify the proclamation and to also push the commission to clear the air on the central server system, which continues to draw controversy.
Launching the BVR exercise, Mugabe said he had set yesterday as the official day for commencement of registration.
"On the advice of Zec, I officially marked today (yesterday) as the day on which BVR will officially commence.
"Zec has requested that today, I and the First Family, be registered to mark the beginning of the process.
"I have also invited the Vice-Presidents and their wives and the senior officials in my office, including the ministers and their families, to participate in the excise," he said.
Source - newsday
