Zimbabwe Election: CCC 23:00 update

Good evening. As we head into election night and the count begins, dozens of polling stations have still not opened for voting to commence. Urban areas such as Harare and Bulawayo are particularly badly affected, despite Harare being the home of the ZEC's ballot printing centre.

Citizens' commitment to democracy remains high, however, with voters and their young children queuing up at Warren Park in the dark, waiting for voting to start at the Harare polling station.

As we move into Thursday, much of the usual patterns remain the same. Internet connectivity is still critically low. Registered voters in rural areas are encountering problems with the voters' roll, and the so-called 'exit poll' stands manned by ZANU and FAZ supporters remain parked outside polling stations.

Nevertheless, there is progress.

Voting finally started at Cold Comfort Primary School in Harare at 20:15 and citizens remain resilient and are encouraging each other to stay out and vote. Musician and comedian Cucsman has received particular praise online for his efforts to work with chief election agents across seven wards to counter voter intimidation.

FATAL ELECTION

CCC spokesperson Promise Mwkwananzi has paid tribute to a Mr Mushove, who died waiting to cast his vote at Warren Park polling station, where voting still hadn't commenced by 20:00. This tragic event highlights the sinister levels of disorganisation displayed by the ZEC in this election, as well as the tremendous dedication of Zimbabwean citizens who are desperate for change.

The ZEC's Deputy Chairperson Rodeny Kiwa has apologised on behalf of the organisation for the late opening of polling stations, with only 23% of polling stations in Harare opening on time.

Without a hint of irony, Mr Kiwa chalked the disastrous delays up to "minor logistical challenges" and added that the situation was not being rectified "at the speed we hoped for".

SHORT CIRCUITS

Internet connectivity remains painfully slow across most of Zimbabwe, with citizens largely only able to connect to the web via Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). This has been the case since Tuesday night, when internet freedom group Netblocks first reported the throttling of connectivity.

On a similar theme, a power cut in Nyaki South has plunged the command centre for ZimPaper's 'Zimbabwe Elections' news service into darkness. Officials have resorted to using cellphone torches to carry out their work. Meanwhile, at Highlands Primary School in Mt Pleasant, voting is taking place by candlelight owing to a lack of electricity at the polling station. Voting is due to close there at 22:25.

Charles Kwaramba
Presidential Chief Elections Agent