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ATTEMPTS by opposition elements to cast aspersions on the country’s electoral processes ended in shame after they were exposed for making false claims that their names were not on the voters’ roll. 

On Monday, Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leaders, Welshman Ncube and David Coltart went over the top alleging that their names were missing from the voters’ roll as part of a deliberate effort to tarnish the reputation of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. 

Also, they wanted to present themselves as “perennial victims” of ZEC that they have over the years accused of bias in a futile attempt to justify their successive electoral defeats at the hands of the ruling Zanu-PF under different monikers from MDC, MDC-T, MDC-N, MDC Alliance and now CCC. 

The two later returned with a climb-down after it was proven that their names were actually on the voters’ roll. Their leader Mr Nelson Chamisa, perhaps to cement the conspiracy against ZEC also went to check his name and his particulars were confirmed to be on the voters’ roll, pouring water into a grand scheme to delegitimise the nation’s electoral management body. 

Against this background, ZEC chief elections officer Mr Utloile Silaigwana rightly called for the public to stop making unfounded claims on how it prepares for polls. 

He said the commission made public the provisional voters roll by taking it to communities for people to check their names as it has nothing to hide. 

Mr Silaigwana said at law, people are expected to visit ZEC offices for inspection purposes but the commission had gone an extra mile by establishing more than 11 000 centres countrywide. 

He said the delimitation exercise that the commission conducted recently could have changed the electorate’s polling station among other anomalies being attended to. “Probably some people could have gone to the places where they usually vote but because of the delimitation exercise they might have been moved. There is no need for anyone to press a panic button because these anomalies that I’m talking about can be corrected,” said Mr Silaigwana. 

“There is no need to over-dramatise some of these things and also sensationalise elections in our country. 

ZEC CEO Utoile Silaigwana

“We all have the responsibility to build this country, we all need this stability and there is no need to be saying things that don’t exist. ZEC is truly independent.

“There is no need to cause alarm in our electoral processes. It is not necessary for alarmists to cause despondency in an election. Elections must be held in a peaceful environment. Elections belong to the ordinary people and the ordinary people must be protected by an environment. 

“We appeal to the political actors to create a conducive and peaceful environment so that our elections must be held where everyone wants to participate. If that does not happen people with disabilities, pregnant women and the old may not participate in the elections because they might think that the elections may become violent.”