Over 400k registered under the mobile registration exercise

Over 400 000 people have been registered under the current mobile registration exercise, bringing the number of people on the national voters roll to over 6 million, the Registrat General, Tobaiwa Mudede revealed.

The mobile registration exercise, which kicked off on the 10th of June countrywide, encompassed the capturing of first time voters, transfers from one constituency to another for those who have translocated or migrated.

The process also afforded voters an opportunity to inspect the voters roll as well as being issued with national identity cards, birth certificates and death certificates in preparation for the harmonised elections which are being held on the 31st of this month.   

Addressing the media in Harare on Tuesday, Mudede said a total of 404 420 people were added to the voters roll, bringing the total number of voters to 6 082 301.

He however said those registered after the closure of the voters roll will not appear on the voters roll for the 31 July elections.

"Registration officers are working hard to ensure that nobody is disenfranchised in the coming election, with some working to as late as 10.pm to ensure that all those who turn up for registration are captured," he said.

Mudede scoffed at some allegations to the effect that his office is manipulating the voters roll and challenged those in doubt about the state of the voters roll to visit his offices for verification and clarification.

The SADC Parliamentary Forum observer mission, which is already in the country, the African Union and other prominent politicians have visited the RG's offices.

On complaints that some of the officers are slow, Mr Mudede said there is need for thorough checking and scrutinising of documents to ensure the procedure is accurate.

The MDC-T reported earlier that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has said that the current voter's roll is in a bad state and must be updated before the forthcoming elections.

It reported that the ZEC Chairperson, Rita Makarau, told journalists after meeting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai that the commission is concerned that the voters roll may not be in the shape that is ought to be in before the harmonized elections.

"It is trite that a credible election process begins with a credible voters' roll which is acceptable to all stakeholders. In my view, it should be an easy matter for us to have a credible voters' roll if we agree on what it should look like before hand."

"In particular the commission is concerned that people who lawfully registered as voters in a particular ward may have to find their names removed from the roll of the ward without their knowledge," she said.