Umzingwane villagers accuse Zec of ambush

VILLAGERS in Umzingwane, Matabeleland South province, have accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) of ambushing them in the just-ended biometric voter registration (BVR) blitz after the programme failed to attract good numbers.

The BVR ended on Saturday with various stakeholders calling on Zec to extend the blitz to enable more prospective voters to register.

Ward 9 councillor Bekezela Moyo said the mobile registration blitz failed to serve its purpose as Zec officials emerged without notifying villagers, culminating in a few people getting registered.

“Zec officials did not report to the village heads or councillors, which in turn made the turn out of applicants low because villagers were unaware. Last week only five people were documented and the next day Zec was gone,” Moyo said.

“Zec officials should communicate with community leaders, and notify them of their programmes so that no one is left out. We have a challenge that some villagers don’t have radios hence they will be unaware,”

Matabeleland provincial elections officer, Rabson Nyoni said it was the duty of community leaders to mobilise people to register.

“It is true that our team was on the ground. Firstly, Umzingwane was covered by Phase One, then the Civil Registry followed with National Identity card registrations. It is the obligation of councillors and other leaders to mobilise people so that the government’s investment done through Zec does not go to waste,” Nyoni said, adding that people should understand the importance of registering to vote, urging them to do so at provincial offices.