Source: CSOs launch aggressive BVR campaign – DailyNews Live
Farayi Machamire 18 October 2017
HARARE – Civic Society Organisations (CSOs) have launched an aggressive
campaign to have Zimbabweans register to vote in next year’s watershed
elections.
This comes as there are growing concerns that millions of people may not
participate in the eagerly-awaited elections due to difficulties in
registering for the biometric voter registration (BVR) exercise which has
been hit by apathy.
National elections management body Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec)
which has admitted to glitches marring the process – said on Monday about
487 000 people had registered countrywide – a far cry from the targeted 7
million voters.
Yesterday CSOs led by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights)
deployed hundreds of personnel to Manicaland, Midlands, Matabeleland South
and parts of Masvingo provinces in a bid to ramp up interest in the BVR.
“Ten branded trucks sourced by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association
(ZimRights) and the Election Resource Centre (ERC) have already been
deployed to different provinces supported by artists where they will move
from one place to the other.
“At the end of the current blitz and as Zec enters its second blitz the
voter mobilisation, education and observation mobile teams put together by
the civil society groups will be redeployed,” ZimRights executive
director, Okay Machisa, told the Daily News.
“We decided to invade the streets and provinces because that’s where the
people are. We will leave no stone unturned as we try to encourage
everyone to register to vote. We are going to deploy people at all trunk
roots and other major roads distributing information on BVR,” he added.
Apart from the roadshows in the provinces, Machisa said they had
intensified their voter education campaigns in the urban and rural areas
by launching television and radio programmes, respectively.
Zec introduced the BVR for next year’s elections in a bid to ensure that
the country holds free, credible and fair elections.
Zimbabwe has a history of disputed elections and losing parties have
consistently accused President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF of using their
incumbency to achieve favourable outcomes via electoral fraud.
The blitz by CSOs comes after Zec last week, as follow up to last month’s
launch by Mugabe, opened the registration and voter education campaigns.
BVR process will last for 72 days and will be held in four phases with
each kit spending 16 days at the established centre.
The first phase commenced last week and ends on the 25th of this month –
paving way for the next chapter which opens on October 29 – running until
November 13.
The third phase would be from November 16 to December 1 and the fourth and
last phase commences on December 4 and ends on December 19.
Zec is targeting a mammoth 7 million voters in next year’s crucial
elections but observer and watchdog groups have said this might not be
possible because of difficulties being faced in the registration process.
“Proof of residence is required for voter registration under the Electoral
Act (though not under the Constitution). The Electoral (Voter
Registration) Regulations 2017 (SI 85/2017 give a list of documents that
constitute proof of residence, and go on to say that in the absence of any
of these documents applicants for registration must produce a residence
affidavit in the form prescribed in the regulations.
“Many people do not seem to have any of the listed documents so they must
produce a residence affidavit sworn before a commissioner of oaths. This
applies especially to rural villagers, urban poor and previously displaced
people,” Legal and Parliamentary watchdog, Veritas said.
“This problem could be done away with if the regulations were amended to
remove the requirement that in the absence of other documents residence
must be proved by affidavit.
“All the regulations need do is to require applicants for registration to
state where they live in the application form (officially called a `claim
form’) that every applicant must complete. A voter who falsifies his or
her address in such a form could be charged under section 37(2) of the
Electoral Act with making a false statement of fact in an application for
registration (maximum punishment two years’ imprisonment). Producing an
affidavit sworn before a commissioner of oaths is not necessary,” added
Veritas.
COMMENTS