ZEC admits polls were flawed
By Lance Guma
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The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has for the first time admitted that elections held last week were tainted with massive irregularities which saw 511 791 voters disenfranchised either through assisted voting or being turned away.
The MDC-T led by Morgan Tsvangirai issued a statement saying the admission by the nine-member electoral commission vindicated their position that the elections were a monumental farce as “Zanu PF assisted by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the State machinery stole the people’s victory.”
“In the figures released by ZEC today at the request of the MDC-T, a total of 206 901 voters were assisted to vote while 304 890 people were turned away with Harare province recording the highest number of 64 483 such people,” the MDC-T said. A total of 3.4 million people voted in the disputed election.
The MDC-T believes that “although ZEC has released these figures, the correct numbers are higher than this considering that two million people particularly in the urban areas failed to register in the chaotic voter registration exercise.”
The party also noted that in the rural areas villagers were coerced to vote for Zanu PF by state agents, Zanu PF militias and traditional leaders “in clear violation of the Electoral Act.”
A substantial number of people also voted using fake voter registration slips even though their names did not appear on the voters’ roll.
The MDC-T has demanded a forensic audit of the electoral processes in particular the voters’ roll, the ballot papers, where they were printed, the special vote; voter displacement and voter registration certificates.
The party said it is determined to pursue all peaceful, legal, political, constitutional and diplomatic remedies to resolve the current crisis and once all the remedies have been exhausted, Zimbabweans should be allowed a fresh opportunity to freely and fairly elect a government of their choice.
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