Voters' roll closes today

The voters' roll closes today for the July 31 harmonised elections and all people who are not yet captured will not be able to vote in the forthcoming elections.

This followed the closure of the mandatory 30-day mobile voter registration yesterday.

Zimbabwe 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.