ZEC registration process not satisfying opposition parties - Mugabe

A political commentator Makusha Mugabe has said the current Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's Biomentric Voter registration does not satisfy the opposition parties in many ways.

He said Zimbabwe's electoral authorities are steam-rolling through a voter registration exercise, seemingly for the sake of going through the motions, but they are unlikely to satisfy the constitutional requirements of a proper voter registration exercise.

"Besides failing to satisfy political parties and civic society of the security of the voter registration exercise, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission are also ignoring reports of the partisan involvement of Chiefs and Headmen and reports of intimidation of villagers," he said.

In the latest reports from Zaka provided by local NGO Community Tolerance Reconciliation and Development (Cotrad) villagers expressed concern that the traditional leaders in Zaka have become more of an extension of the ruling party, Zanu (PF) and are abusing their authority to mobilize potential registrants to register and vote for Zanu PF in 2018 elections.

Headmen Mataruse Madziviro of Madziviro Village and Onias Mazhetese of Madzivanyika Village under Chief Ndanga in Zaka were especially noted for this coercive behavior has been explicitly ruled out in the constitution; any confirmed incidence or report of such behaviour can lead to the nullifying of election results in that area, or a report to the police can and should lead to their arrest.

Cotrad's Peace Committee members in Zaka have reported these misdemeanors to ZEC, including their observation of Zanu PF Officials for Zaka Central Ward 8, Violet Tarusenga and Viola Makuya on a door-to-door campaign in Madziviro Village urging eligible voters to register to vote and that Zanu PF is the only party to vote for in all elections.

It is alleged that villagers also claimed that Mataruse and his team were threatening villagers with violence reminiscent of the 2008 terror campaign when 200 people were killed, and others spent weeks in the hills fearing for their lives if they returned to their villages.

Headmen Mazhetese, accompanied by Mac Mazhetese Zanu PF ward 8 Youth Chairperson and Aleta Unganai were moving the entire village instructing people to be registered and to vote for ZANU PF in the upcoming elections to avoid being beaten up.

Mazhetese also declared that he did not want opposition members in his village and he ordered those who did not have Zanu PF membership cards to aquire them and to attend all party meetings.

Cotrad said they would continue to report all forms of electoral irregularities to (ZEC) which is obliged to act on the reports, even though Rita Makarau has chosen to abrogate this responsibility of her office to to the police.

"Rather than her leaving it to police to deal with such complaints of electoral irregularities, she and her commissioners and monitors empowered by her are supposed to take the complaint and command the police or any other person in the employ of government to go and investigate the veracity of what would have been reported, and come to a determination," he said.

"This is why the Electoral Commission is set up with all those commissioners with their important powers, secretaries and salaries during the run up to elections. Commissioner Rita and Deputy Commissioner Magade - not a serious lot."