MANY LOSE OPPORTUNITY TO SHAPE ZIMBABWE’S DEMOCRATIC FUTURE

Quite a number of people failed to exercise their right to vote in the just ended Zimbabwe referendum after failing to produce the relevant identifications. Only people with National Identity cards and current passports were eligible to vote, however because of lack of voter education, most people were ignorant of the correct documentation needed. This trend was noted both in urban and rural as people carried birth certificates, or photocopied national identity cards, expired passports as well as driver’s licences to try and vote. At Mthombowesizwe Primary school in Entumbane (Bulawayo) one eager person was turned away after producing a birth certificate. Some youths below 18 years but were of the idea that possessing an I.D was eligibility to vote were also turned away. Only those who turned 18 years on or before 15 March 2013 were eligible to vote. At Lukhanyiso Primary in Mpopoma (Bulawayo) one was turned away because the I.D was too old and damaged beyond recognition, while at Amhlophe in Pumula there was a similar case. ‘Aliens’ were also not spared as they were turned away in most polling stations in Bulawayo and outlying stations. At Cameroon Primary School in UMguza at a community that is largely Xhosa speaking, the Habakkuk Trust Observer Mission noted at midday about four people were turned away for having brought a letter from the church as they did not have national identity documents. At Esikhoveni and Mbalabala in UMzingwane a significant number of voters who were turned away had brought birth certificates