The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) says claims that it has deliberately removed the names of opposition members from the voters’ roll are “mischievous and preposterous”.
In an interview with The Herald on Wednesday, ZEC vice chairperson Rodney Kiwa said that cannot happen as the electoral body is not affiliated with any political party. He said:
The rationale for the voters’ roll inspection is to ensure every registrant is accurately captured on the roll and all corrections made.
To suggest that members of a particular political party are targeted for exclusion is not only mischievous and preposterous as we are fully independent of any political party influence and in fact, when registering people, we do not seek their political alignment, it would be illegal and unethical.
Voters across the country including sitting members of Parliament from the opposition say their names are missing from the voters’ roll.
Some of the registered voters whose names are missing from the voters’ roll voted in the March 2022 by-elections.
Kiwa said there are more people checking the voters’ roll using the ZEC USSD platform *265# than those checking the physical copies in person. He said:
We are compiling figures from all the inspection centres. My take so far is that registrants were/are using our USSD platform *265# more than they are physically turning up to check.
But let the figures speak for themselves. I should be able to speak authoritatively end of the day Friday.
ZEC extended the voters’ roll inspection exercise to 01 June 2023. The voters’ roll inspection exercise which commenced on Saturday, was supposed to end on 31 May.
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