News / National
'Aliens' being turned away from registering to vote
18 Jun 2013 at 19:46hrs | Views
Most of the mobile voter registration centres are still making it extremely difficult for the so called "aliens" to register. Reports gathered by the the Tsvangirai led MDC are that at Treawley Training Centre in Zvimba East, Mashonaland West, those formerly referred to as "aliens" who are over the age of 40 years are being denied the chance to register and are informed that nothing can be done to assist them.
This problem is common in many centres across the country to an extent that there is no centre which is being reported to be serving "aliens" vigilantly and smoothly.
Another key issue hindering registration is the requirement for acceptable proof of residence. In the rural areas, a letter from the village head is being accepted authentic. However, the village heads are manipulating this to disenfranchise perceived MDC-T supporters. In Mashanonald Central at MT Fartigue Farm, Utete Primary school, Henderson Research and Murongwe Primary school, the village heads are openly conniving with Zanu PF officials and officials from the Registrar General's Office to turn away MDC-T suspected supporters.
In 2008, Mashonaland Central experienced severe political violence and a lot of our members lost identification documents. The RG's Office officials are not doing much to assist them since they are known MDC-T supporters. At Chitowa in Masvingo, war veterans masquerading as village heads are only issuing letters of residence to Zanu PF supporters and sympathizers.
In Bulawayo, one Ms Sheena Kasmero was denied registration at Coglan School in Bulawayo Central with the reason given was that she was a first time voter and "alien".
In Bindura North, there is a case of police force members and their families being forced to register in the police camp without fail. This is being done to instill fear. We have issues of centres covering large areas and this is prevalent in areas perceived to be MDC-T strongholds. This is making it difficult for people to access the centres.
The MDC-T would like encourage all its membership not to be discouraged by the inefficiency and deliberate attempts by the ZEC officers to discourage people from registering. In fact members should mobilize each other in numbers and register whilst the party takes the necessary steps to rectify the bungled up process.
This problem is common in many centres across the country to an extent that there is no centre which is being reported to be serving "aliens" vigilantly and smoothly.
Another key issue hindering registration is the requirement for acceptable proof of residence. In the rural areas, a letter from the village head is being accepted authentic. However, the village heads are manipulating this to disenfranchise perceived MDC-T supporters. In Mashanonald Central at MT Fartigue Farm, Utete Primary school, Henderson Research and Murongwe Primary school, the village heads are openly conniving with Zanu PF officials and officials from the Registrar General's Office to turn away MDC-T suspected supporters.
In Bulawayo, one Ms Sheena Kasmero was denied registration at Coglan School in Bulawayo Central with the reason given was that she was a first time voter and "alien".
In Bindura North, there is a case of police force members and their families being forced to register in the police camp without fail. This is being done to instill fear. We have issues of centres covering large areas and this is prevalent in areas perceived to be MDC-T strongholds. This is making it difficult for people to access the centres.
The MDC-T would like encourage all its membership not to be discouraged by the inefficiency and deliberate attempts by the ZEC officers to discourage people from registering. In fact members should mobilize each other in numbers and register whilst the party takes the necessary steps to rectify the bungled up process.
Source - Byo24News
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