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(NEWZIMBABWE) Zimbabwe’s voters roll perfect: Mudede

Zimbabwe’s voters roll perfect: Mudede
07/03/2012 00:00:00
by Gilbert Nyambabvu

REGISTRAR General, Tobaiwa Mudede has insisted that the country’s widely condemned voters’ roll is “perfect” and dismissed fears of possible rigging in elections likely to be held this year. Mudede told state radio Wednesday that his office was maintaining an up-to-date register with about 5, 8 million registered voters.

Critics have accused President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party of manipulating the voters’ roll for political advantage and claim the list includes children and people who have long since died.

The Zimbabwe Support Network (ZESN), a civic organisation that seeks to promote democratic elections, last year reported that nearly a third of the of voters on the list used in the disputed 2008 elections were dead.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party has made a sanitised roll one of the key requirements before new elections can be held.

But Zanu PF says it has no problems with the current list and is confident of winning elections whether or not the roll is re-done.
Mudede defended the register telling state radio that new computer systems have since been put in place to detect double registration.

He has previously dismissed criticism of the presence of thousands of centenarians on the roll in a country where the average life expectancy is just 34 for women and 37 for men, according to the World Health Organisation.

"You don't want these people to attain 100 years; you don't want them to be alive?" Mudede said last year.

"The law does not say once one attains 100 years he/she should be removed. It is their right to vote unless they come to say they want to be removed. We will, however, still advise them that it is their right to vote," he said.

The Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) said it would need about US$20 million to spruce up the widely-condemned roll after which constituency boundaries would be drawn up for general elections.

Meanwhile, the MDC-T said Wednesday it would step-up preparations for elections despite demanding completion of political reforms required under the GPA.

“The (party) resolved to treat the year 2012 as a watershed year and will prepare for elections whether or not these elections were going to be held this year,” the party’s national executive said after a meeting in Harare Wednesday.

“To Organising Department is working flat out to prepare the MDC structures for elections.

“However, the committee reiterated that the elections must only be held after all the conditions for a free and fair elections have been fulfilled.”

The party is resisting a push by President Mugabe for elections to be held this year claiming conditions do not exist to ensure a free and fair poll.
Mugabe says the polls are necessary to replace a coalition government he claims is no longer workable.

Labels: CSO, ZEC

posted by MrK @ 6:48 PM