In the second week of the biometric voter registration by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and as the Registrar General’s office also conducts a mobile registration process for IDs, birth certificates and death certificates, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) below shares feedback from Zimbabweans in different areas. ZimRights is running the #10×10 campaign aimed at mobilising people to register as voters.
Shashe Building in Gwanda 27/09/2017
In Gwanda, at Shashe Building everything every else is going well, except that there is no order because the same building where there is a huge queue for those who want to take birth certificates and IDs is where people are registering to vote. So some people will end up standing in the wrong queue. The challenge we have is to mobilise and give direction to those who do not know the place and to those who want to register, but they did not know it has started.
Pamal Agency Complex Muzarabani 21/09/2017
At Pamal Agency complex, Muzarabani District in Mashonaland Central, they started at 07:45am. There were 4 ZEC officials and commissioner of oaths arrived at 8 o’clock. Everything seems to be okay.
Chipinge 21/09/2017
In Chipinge, I don’t know whether people are aware that they are supposed to register. The majority that I have asked they are refusing to register. Yesterday there was not even a queue at the centre. On average it might be 10 people who registered the whole day. Today since they opened no one has come to register. Maybe it is because of the bad weather.
Thomas Coulter Annex in Hwange 21/09/2017
I’m at Thomas Coulter Annex in Hwange and people are coming to register and all is going on accordingly. All paper work is being done like those who do not have proof of residence are given affidavit forms and are being attended to. The only challenge is time being spend to register an individual. It is varying from 15 mins to 19 mins. Maybe they are taking their time or it can be compatibility of the machines, but it is almost a week that they have been registering people. Maybe we still need to give them the benefit of the doubt. The issue of long distance and the centre being away from the community is still affecting people who want to come and register. The reception by police was very good and they were of great help in weeding out a few individuals who wanted to act clever by taking advantage of the long wait in queues to stand in front and pretend to be socializing while taking chances to jump the queue. The commissioner of Oaths was available throughout the time I was the centre.
Buhera South 25/09/2017
Here in Buhera South we have a problem with the mobile registration for identity documents. Today in Ward 28 they were only issuing birth certificates and national IDs to people aged 0-16 years only. Those who are 18 years and above were turned away. The other problem is that they are now working with district officials of the ruling party Zanu-Pf as their supervisors as these are now controlling the process. As we speak the supervisor for Chapanduka Primary School centre is now Cllr. Mupinda Chibangamusindo. Zanu-Pf chairman Boas Chimombe was supervising at the centre at Murove. All centres are now being monitored by Zanu-Pf officials.
Mutiusinazita in Buhera South 22/09/2017
Member of Parliament for Buhera South Joseph Chinotimba has today for almost an hour disrupted the smooth flow of the mobile registration of birth certificates and national ID cards at Mutiusinazita by ordering the people in the queue to sit down and listen to his address. He chanted Zanu-PF slogans and told the gathering to vote him into office for the second chance come 2018 harmonised elections. He even threatened the people with unspecified action if they fail to vote for him. He then donated some rice and each person was given a 2kg bag.
Famona ZEC Offices in Bulawayo 22/09/2017
I went for registration today at Famona ZEC offices in Bulawayo. I arrived at the centre a few minutes before 9am, but left the place at 12:05. The process was really slow and some senior politicians who came after us jumped the queue. And they were served before everyone else without even asking the people on the queue to excuse them. It is of notable concern that there is no signage at all directing people to the registration centre. Neither is there a visible ZEC banner at the gate to show their presence at the premise. Some of the potential voters got lost after there were wrongly directed to Gifford High school and upon arriving at Gifford High school and noticing no activity that could signal a national process, voters went back. ZEC officials kept emphasizing that people from high density suburbs should not bother much traveling to Famona offices as the mobile registration will start soon and centres will be closer to people for them to register.
Guruve 22/09/2017
There was no queue at the registration centre in Guruve. I got there at 14:00 hrs and finished registering at 14:24hrs. It took me 24 mins to get registered. I used VR1 and VR 9 affidavit forms for proof of residence and those forms were readily available with ZEC.
Source: ZimRights
