Youths must capitalise on final registration blitz

ELECTORAL watchdogs have appealed to unregistered voters to take advantage of next week's voter registration blitz for them to participate in the forthcoming polls.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has set March 11 to 21 as the dates for the final voter registration blitz after only around 900 000 new voters registered in previous blitzes.

Electoral watchdogs said the upcoming blitz would be the last chance for young people to register to vote in polls set for later this year.

The Zimbabwe Election Advocacy Trust (Zeat), however, says it strongly believes that the country's political parties are largely guilty of failing to mobilise potential voters to register to vote.

Zeat director Ignatius Sadziwa said: "We are worried by the state of preparedness of political parties judging from what we witnessed during the previous blitzes. Actually, all the parties are not serious.  We want to applaud Zec for upholding the Constitution by organising another blitz after delimitation. However, it should increase its awareness."

Zimbabwe Election Support Network (Zesn) chairperson Andrew Makoni appealed to all young people over 18 to register to vote saying their destiny is in their hands.

"Leaving it to others to determine your future is like trusting others with the choice of your future wife or husband. You will be stuck with what we choose for you for life," he said.

Makoni, however, said 10 days were not enough for the registration exercise.

Project Vote 263 director Allan Chipoyi said: "This is the last opportunity that Zimbabweans must utilise. The young people must be at the forefront and encourage their peers to register."

Citizens Coalition for Change youth taskforce spokesperson Stephen Chuma said: "We are ready for the blitz and indeed it is the last opportunity for more youths to register as voters. We have been running voter mobilisation campaigns under the Register, Elect and Protect (REAP) campaign and we have thousands of youths willing to register. We have compiled data for those willing to register and we have teams in every street and village that will drive voter mobilisation during the blitz."

Zanu-PF information director Tafadzwa Mugwadi said they were ready to defeat the opposition.

"We have completed our final cell verification programme nationwide to ensure that our primary candidate selection process happens smoothly. For the opposition, it's a different story. The cloud of defeat is hovering on their heads. There is nothing for them to harvest because they have nothing to give to the people," he declared.