Welshman Ncube, the vice president of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change, has reported that his name is missing from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s voters’ roll.
In a Twitter post seen by Pindula News, Ncube said he said visited multiple inspection centers within his ward and found that his name did not appear on any of them. Hillside Primary School referred him to Windsor Park and the Provincial office for further checks. He posted:
This morning I went to the other inspection centres within ward 4 in the neighbourhood of my residence to check if my name had been moved to those polling stations. My name didn’t appear at any of them. Hillside Primary School referred me to Windsor Park, the Provincial office.
The voters’ roll inspection exercise took off on Saturday allowing the electorate to check if their names were in the roll ahead of this year’s harmonised elections scheduled for August.
Prospective voters need to complete and submit a voter registration form with the necessary documentation to the ZEC. The documentation usually required may include a national ID or passport, proof of residence and proof of citizenship. Once the application is processed and approved, their name will be added to the voters’ roll, and they will be eligible to vote in the upcoming elections.
Government critics have alleged that ZEC plans to use the flawed voters’ roll to manipulate election results in favour of the ruling party, ZANU PF. The voters’ roll has been a contentious issue in Zimbabwean politics, with concerns raised about its accuracy, completeness, and transparency.
Some opposition parties and civil society groups have accused the ZEC of deliberately excluding eligible voters from the roll while allowing ineligible voters to register or keeping dead people known as “ghost voters” in the roll. The flawed voters’ roll has raised fears of possible election rigging, particularly since elections in Zimbabwe have been marred by allegations of irregularities and manipulation in the past.
The ZEC has denied these allegations and has insisted that the voters’ roll is still being processed, therefore some details may be missing.