ZEC Failed us During Blitz: Gutu Community

Community members from Gutu who are part of Heal Zimbabwe Community Peace Clubs (CPCs) have bemoaned the lack of intense voter registration by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) during the just ended Biometric Voter Registration Blitz that concluded on 30 April 2022.

This came out during an awareness meeting on the work of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) on 5 May 2022 conducted by Heal Zimbabwe in Gutu. Participants noted that very few people were aware of the voter registration blitz and that ZEC dedicated one day for the exercise.”Most of the people here in Gutu were not aware of the blitz. Added to this, some prospective voters failed to register owing to lack of proper documents such as identity documents and birth certificates”, said one participant. Participants also questioned the timing of the blitz arguing that most people did not have identify documents since the national mobile registration blitz by the Civil Registry Department had not started. Other issues that came out during the meeting include the fact that very few people knew of the work and existence of the NPRC and other commissions such as the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC).

As part of way forwad, the CPC resolved to continue to mobilize and raise awareness on the importance of voter registration. The peace club will also mediate in local conflicts and make referrals to the NPRC and other stakeholders for redress.

The meetings by Heal Zimbabwe are part of efforts to empower local communities to help safeguard against human rights abuse and also help build peaceful communities. Heal Zimbabwe utilizes various strategies to address conflicts in local communities. One of these ways is the use of community dialogues, an initiative for communities to discuss and collectively identify ways through which they can proffer solutions to problems in their communities. Such platforms also facilitate local level conversations on pertinent issues affecting communities as well as create socially cohesive communities.

Source: Heal Zimbabwe

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