The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has extended by five days the ongoing voter registration blitz that was set to end on the 21st of March but will now close on 26th of this month.
This follows concerns raised by political parties, mainly the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) which bemoaned time lost due to malfunctioning Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) machines at some registration centres across the country.
“The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) would like to advise the public that the voter registration blitz and voter education has been extended by 5 days,” wrote ZEC on its twitter account.
According to observers, the voter registration blitz have been hampered by electricity cuts as well as cloud cover affecting solar power generation at some stations, particularly in Chipinge due to cyclone Freddy.
Yesterday, CCC Election Directorate member Ellen Shiriyedenga told media in Harare that the party was preparing to engage ZEC seeking for an extension to the 10-day voter registration blitz owing to the aforementioned disruptions to the process.
ZEC has budgeted ZWL$24 billion for the ongoing exercise which coincides with the Civil Registry Department’s mobile issuance of national documents program also targeting potential voters.
This comes after pressure by civil society organizations as well as political activists for government to streamline the voter registration and national identity documents issuance to ensure all eligible persons are registered.
