Masvingo targets 500k voters

ZANU-PF has launched a new Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) awareness campaign blitz in Masvingo to make sure that more people are registered to vote in next year’s harmonised elections.

The party targets to register more than 500 000 people in the province by the end of the year.

The national voter registration exercise is now in its third phase.

About 300 000 people had already been registered by the beginning of the month.

ZANU-PF Masvingo provincial chairperson Cde Ezra Chadzamira yesterday said the revolutionary party was continuing with its blitz.

‘‘We are currently involved in a massive awareness campaign across the province, where we are urging people to register to vote ahead of next year’s elections.

‘‘Our goal is to have as many people as possible to register under BVR in Masvingo,’’ he said.

‘‘The number of people who had registered across the province started at a slow pace, but our various party organs have been on the ground urging people to register as voters to prepare our party for victory next year,”said Cde Chadzamira.

He, however, expressed concern over the high number of prospective voters being turned away at registration centres.

Cde Chadzamira implored the Registrar-General’s Office to embark on another programme that is meant to issue identity documents, particularly in remote parts of the country.

‘‘The problem is that the Registrar-General’s Office embarked on a nationwide programme to issue identity documents after the BVR exercise had already started in some areas, which means many people who did not have identity documents automatically failed to register to vote,’’ said Cde Chadzamira.

The ZANU-PF Masvingo provincial chair expressed optimism that the province will be able to register the targeted voters.

The party leadership has mainly been concerned by the low number of people who had registered to vote, particularly in strongholds such as Chiredzi and Mwenezi.

Most prospective voters in these two remote districts were turned away from registration centres because they did not have identity documents.