A show of democracy in all its glory

AN elderly woman saunters confidently into a polling station at Mabvuku Primary School.

She is reciting a number at intervals, battling to remember it until she reaches the first desk.

A police officer manning the polling station had helped her locate her name on the voter’s roll pasted on the wall adjacent to the door.

Understanding her limitation, she decides to whisper the number continuously as she waits her turn.

Loud enough for her to hear her own thoughts, but gentle enough to escape the inattentive.

There can only be two people voting in the classroom at a time, so she has to wait for a bit.

A minute later, she is allowed in, approaches the first desk where the first electoral officer verifies her name and face.

She proceeds to the inking desk where one of her fingers is tattooed with indelible link.

On the next desk, she is given her ballot paper and instructions on how to deposit it after making her choice.

After being pleasantly surprised by how easy the process was, Mbuya Anna Chijongwe is naturally elated.

“It was very easy!” she says.

The 73-year-old says she has not missed a chance to vote ever since blacks won the right to vote.

“During the war, black people were not allowed to vote. It was something that we were deprived of because the colonial regime knew its importance. When elections come, I always ask myself: Why would I not vote when I get the chance?” she tells before walking off with energy that would leave her age mates in awe.

The moment Mbuya Chijongwe was walking into the voting booth, right behind her was a fellow voter 49 years her junior.

Tania Chigede (24), a second-time voter, patiently waited her turn.

The two women, separated by almost half a century, both wanted the same thing – to have their voices heard.

“As young people, we should always participate in issues of governance. I wish more people my age would take time to come and vote,” Chigede said.

The two ladies, who are from different generations, could have spent their time elsewhere, but they both decided to play a part choosing their representative in the National Assembly.

It was the same elsewhere as Zimbabweans voted to fill 28 National Assembly seats and more than 100 municipal slots.

Those with disabilities also came out to have their voices heard.

A visually impaired voter from Pumula, Bulawayo, however, urged the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to introduce braille ballot papers.

“We also want our votes to be a secret. ZEC should also take us into consideration when they are printing election material,” he said.

There were, however, a few bloopers. Some people could not find their way to designated polling stations.

In Arcadia, there were three men who presented themselves at a polling station without registering but they wanted to vote anyway.

Some brought their driver’s licences when ZEC made it clear that only passports and national identification cards are accepted as identification.

Others thought being registered means they could vote at the first polling station they came across.

There were those who could not vote because they were overtaken by events.

One such person is 63-year-old Mr Vernon Jenkins of Arcadia, Harare, who was turned away because he had not registered under the biometric system.

Mr Jenkins unsuccessfully tried to negotiate with presiding officers to allow him to vote.

Zimbabwe celebrates its independence in less than a month.

It came at a price as gallant men and women sacrificed themselves to guarantee the sacred right to vote.