“Imagine having to walk from my usual polling station Ntshamathi going to Youth Center with my painful legs, it won’t be nice, the place is too far hence I’ve come to change.”
CHANTEL TAKUDZWA ZAMBUKIRA AND JOHN NDLOVU
BULAWAYO – The voters’ roll inspection has left many questions than offered answers.
There was pandemonium at Windsor Park in Bulawayo, where the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Regional offices are housed. Many people came to query their movement from one ward/constituency to another which is far from their precious one.
For years Gogo kaSiyanda, from Magwegwe Western suburb of Bulawayo has cast her vote at Ntshamathe Primary School without any huddles. Suddenly without notice, she has been moved to Magwegwe Youth Center which is far away from her residency.
“Mzukulu, sengizasuka lapho akade ngivotela khona minyakana yonke ngiqanqabule ngiqonda eYouth club… ngenyawo ezibuhlungu. Why? Kwenzakalani kanti? Ngubani othe bantshintshe vele? Kuntshintshekwani? Batshele ubani?” lamented the old granny.
“Akusenani yibo ababusayo okwamanje, yikho ngizike lapha ukuzowedisisa loludaba”
I now have to walk some kilometers from my usual polling station to Magwegwe youth club with painful feet. Why? What is happening in the first place? Why are they changing my polling station? Who said they must change anyway?
Anyway, what can I do, isn’t they are the ones in power at the moment. That’s why I am here to find out what is happening with me being moved from my usual polling station.
The old granny, Gogo kaSiyanda, bemoaned the actions by ZEC, as unfair and unjustified. She claimed that it is true then that the delimination exercise is meant to discourage voters their constitutional rights.
Many people from Bulawayo and Matabeleland South were at Windsor Park to correct anomalies that emerged after the delimination exercise that was received with much scorn.
Many have either been moved from their previous polling station or their names are totally missing from the current voters’ roll.
“Mina angiyiwedisisi incazelo yabo, lokhu ngokokusenza singavoti”
Another granny, Gogo MaSiziba exclaimed.
I just don’t understand their explanation, simply they don’t want us to vote.
The delimitation process was not decimated to the electorate. The process is fraught with, what many people, term irregularities. It would seem, one commentator expressed, reiterating gogo MaSiziba, “that the process is to discourage voters from reaching the polling stations”.
Even the explanations given by officers at ZEC are without foundation, but simply to appease the system.
Worse with the issue of many people who are not appearing on the voters roll, the likes of Welshman Ncube, who Twitter that his name is nowhere on the roll.
Zim GBC News had scheduled an interview with CCC’s vice president, to confirm the absence of his name on. the voters’ roll, but unfortunatley the meeting did not materilise.
Nonetheless, on WhatsApp, Mr. Ncube did confirm that his name is missing from the current roll.
Yet, the officers at ZEC’s Windsor Park office are singing a different tune.
” There is no one missing from the roll, they must look everywhere, their name is there somewhere, they might have been moved to another polling station for one reason or another.” An officer who refused with his identity elaborated.
“The other reason is that, the affected person maybe sharing their identity number with another, of which the Civil Registry has been informed, or they have been moved to a polling station nearer to them.”
The officer made it clear that what is happening is confirmation and correction of polls station.
Andile Msipa from Matabeleland South who has been mobilizing people in the voter registration exercise and helping others to correct their polling stations said,
“We are managing to incorporate people in the voter registration as well as changing of polling stations and the turn out is good,” he said.
Attempts to get response from the ZEC’S Bulawayo District Director were fruitless as he was not available.
People have been verifying their details in the voters’ roll since President Emerson Mnangagwa proclaimed the harmonized election date set for the 23rd August this year.
The voters’ roll, in its current state is giving citizens a headache.