(NEWZIMBABWE) 6.4 million registered to vote: Mudede
22/07/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter

THE number of people registered to vote in this month’s general elections has reached 6.4 million, Registrar General (RG) Tobaiwa Mudede revealed on Monday.

“The figure comprises statistics from all registration centres in the just ended mobile registration exercise,” Mudede told reporters in Harare.

“The figure is (also) inclusive of the previous voters who were active as reflected in the Zimbabwe Population Registration System.”

About 750,000 first-time voters were added to the roll while another 230,000 transferred from one constituency to another during the 30-day mobile registration exercise which ended on July 9.

“During the registration exercise, 747 928 new voters were registered while 234 000 voters transferred from their original to other wards,” Mudede added.

He said the printing of the voters’ roll was in progress and that the document would be available for scrutiny by the parties and other stakeholders soon.

Under the ward-based voters roll system, voters would only be allowed to vote on July 31 at polling stations where their names appear on the roll.

This system allows registered voters to cast their ballot at any of several polling stations dotted around a constituency made up of a number of wards.

Mudede hit out at non-governmental organisations he accused of purchasing copies of the voters’ roll from his office in order to “manipulate it and mislead the electorate”.

He said voters should not be misled by some online voters’ rolls which he dismissed as “incorrect, defiled and distorted”.

The RG also rejected allegations that his office was helping President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party rig the elections and insisted that rigging through the voters roll was impossible.
“We have invited political parties to come and inspect our system, they have come, they have gone without queries," he said.

“We have invited very senior people in Government, they have come and seen it. In the past we have invited members of the African Union, they have seen our system."

Zimbabweans go to the polls on July 31 to end the fractious coalition between Mugabe and MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

89-year old Mugabe, who has been in power for 33 years is running for re-election and faces arch-rival Tsvangirai as well as Welshman Ncube, leader of the other MDC formation, in the polls.