Zimpapers Logo

Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief

MS Isabel Gama from Jesse Mine Compound in Gwanda is looking forward to casting her vote for the first time this year after she registered to vote during the ongoing national mobile biometric voter registration exercise.

A mobile team of biometric voter registration officers was deployed to her area last week and Ms Gama went through the registration process.

She said she had been contemplating registering to vote but travelling to Gwanda to reach the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) offices was a hindrance. Ms Gama said the mobile outreach programme had brought huge relief to her.

“I’m glad that the mobile team came to our area as this gave me a chance to register. Now I will be able to vote during this year’s harmonised elections.

“If it wasn’t for this mobile outreach programme I wasn’t going to register because it would have meant travelling to Gwanda town. I’m glad that as a citizen of the country and as a youth I will now be able to exercise my legal right,” she said.
Ms Gama said a day before the registration team came, voter educators passed through their place and told them about the programme.

“That is how I got to learn about the voter registration exercise,” she said.
Ms Gama urged fellow youths to take advantage of the mobile registration teams to register.

Mr Lucas Mpala from Ntephe area said the mobile biometric voter registration exercise has helped to ensure all citizens participate in the election process, especially those in the rural areas.

He said the exercise will indeed ensure that no one is left behind.
“Without such mobile exercises, rural people are left out of key development processes such as elections. I have managed to register to vote without having to travel to Gwanda town.

“My community hasn’t been left behind, thanks to this programme. I would like to urge my fellow rural people to grab this opportunity and register,” he said.

Ms Liznet Ndlovu from Jessie Mine Compound said she took advantage of the mobile biometric voter registration process to check with the BVR officers whether she was registered. She said she got a confirmation that she was registered and she will be participating in this year’s elections.

Ms Phanankosi Moyo said the voter education exercise has enlightened her on the elections process. She said she registered to vote in 2018. Ms Moyo said she now understood more about her legal right to vote and choosing a candidate of her choice.

“The voter educators passed through our area and enlightened us on the election process. I once voted before but I learnt something new this time around. I will be casting my vote in the coming elections,” she said.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is on its final mobile voter registration blitz which started on March 12.
The exercise which was set to run till March 21 has been extended by another five days following technical problems as a result of power cuts.

The special mobile voter registration will now end on Sunday.
The electoral commission has also deployed voter educators to sensitise the public on their right to vote.
Voters can register any time at the registration offices across the country but during the mobile registration blitz, ZEC brings registration teams closer to the people.

The $24 billion blitz coincides with the Civil Registry Department’s mobile issuance of national documents also targeting potential voters.

The electoral body is conducting the last registration blitz to ensure no one is left behind in the electoral process.
The Civil Registry Department has extended business hours and will open offices on weekends to ensure people have the documents to register as voters.

Voters have expressed happiness over the extension of the special registration exercise.
Zimbabwe is gearing for the 2023 harmonised elections and President Mnangagwa last month gazetted the final delimitation report. — @DubeMatutu