Aspiring candidates confront Zec

ZIMBABWE Election Commission (Zec) officials in Beitbridge were on Wednesday taken to task by candidates who demanded the latest voters' roll.

The candidates, drawn from Beitbridge East complained that the voters' rolls they were given did not have some registered voters.

In response, a Zec official, Sibangani Ndlovu, said an updated voters' roll would be available three days before the elections set for July 30.

"How will we get a chance to go through that roll, considering we will be winding up and making final touches to our campaigns?" asked Patricia Ndlovu, the MDC Alliance candidate for Beitbridge East.

"It will be of no use at that time as it should have been given to us earlier."

Zec officials who only received instructions from their head office through their provincial offices did not have immediate answers.

In the meeting, called by Zec and attended by EU observers at the Beitbridge Rural District, candidates were apprised of how the election would be run and the behaviour expected of them and their supporters.

Meanwhile, opposition candidates told Southern Eye that the election landscape had changed as they were now able to access former Zanu-PF strongholds in rural areas without problems.

"We access all areas and we have not encountered problems," said Handsome Mbedzi, also eyeing Beitbridge East constituency left vacant by Vice-President Kembo Mohadi when he was appointed to his new post.

The aspiring office bearers also said they were now able to put up their campaign posters on previously "sacred" government buildings.

Two weeks ago police and Zec officials held a meeting with all political aspirants who were told not to interfere, deface or tamper with competitors' campaign material.