Polling station-based voting must be embraced

While it would appear as a challenge to those conducting the voting process because of continuous queues, polling-station-based voting procedure could be a very good instrument of curbing multiple voting scenarios by unruly people meant to rig the voting process.

There has been a debate among political parties in the country with some calling for a polling-station-based voting procedure and others calling for a ward-based voting procedure.

A close look on both procedures would present various reasons on why there is a difference in opinion from political parties and political commentators in the country.

Some of the political parties are saying that ward-based voting would make voters feel secure, as they would go to any polling station of their choice in the same ward and vote without fear. They also argue that ward-based procedure minimises cases of long queues.

 They further argue that voting in a polling-station-based procedure would compromise the security of any voter as he/she may encounter his/her opponents, resulting in a possibility of violence during elections.

Well, such arguments seem to carry weight.

In any first past the post election, one who gets most votes is automatically declared a winner. Such a winner must represent a lot of people's interests, not few individuals who would have manipulated the voting system by embarking on multiple voting processes to make sure that their desired candidate becomes a winner.

Ward-based voting procedure has got challenges in that one can vote more than twice as he/she can go around the whole ward casting votes. Other people may dispute this fact, wondering how that can be possible, as one dips his finger into a container full of ink.

However, the ink can be removed by simply cleaning one's finger thoroughly. It is possible that those with ulterior motives of wanting to defeat the one-man-one-vote process would do anything at their disposal to make sure that they succeed in their endeavor to win.

Polling station-based procedure is good in that it eliminates the possibility of multiple voting and it provides one to cast his/her vote once, thereby fulfilling the one-man-one-vote procedure. It also makes the poll credible, as there would be no worry that some people may have voted more than once.

If people are given an opportunity to vote in a polling station-based procedure, the poll results would really reflect the exact number of people who would have cast their votes. The polling-station-based procedure would eliminate a situation where people go about inflating a number of voters.

It is advisable for political parties who are debating over which method is good between ward-based and polling-station-based procedures to note that the latter is better if the country really wants to stop double voting by unruly individuals.

Only those with the mentality of promoting double voting may persist in embracing ward-based instead of polling-station-based voting.

People must not hide behind the fact that if polling-station-based procedure is embraced, then enemies would target each other thereby causing violence. The truth of the matter is that when elections are being held, the total number of people who would have cast their votes is the one which should exactly show a clear picture of the poll.

People in Zimbabwe just think of the past events that culminated in violence during elections, forgetting that the ward-based polling procedure has not even brought any election result which contesting parties have all accepted.

There have been a lot of accusations of rigging of elections from those who would have been defeated as the ward-based polling procedure gives opportunity for people to cast their votes more than once.

Vote rigging can only be curbed if all the political parties in the country come together and agree on the use of polling-station-based procedure since a voter would only vote once. There would be no situation where people would claim that the poll has been rigged.

Ward-based polling procedure must be scrapped in the next elections so that the results of the elections would point to the real winner.

If only the powers that be could take this advice seriously, multiple voting by individuals would be a thing of the past.