New demands will disenfranchise thousands, analysts

Thousands of eligible Zimbabweans will not be able to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections without producing written proof that they reside in the constituency where they are registered. In a last-minute public notice published in the official Herald newspaper, the Registrar-General's office said prospective voters in urban areas should present inspection officers with payment slips for water, electricity or other rates, or written statements from landlords confirming their tenancy within the constituency. Voters in rural areas are required to produce written confirmation from their ward councillors and traditional chiefs. Where possible, oral confirmation of residence by the same leadership should be obtained. Civic groups and the political opposition in Zimbabwe have expressed concern over the new demands, while political analyst Emmanuel Magade said they would discourage potential voters from participating in the poll, scheduled for March. He said the stringent requirements could only work in favour of the ruling ZANU-PF, especially in the rural areas, where traditional leaders and ward councillors were members of the local party structures. "The fact that the notice was published only in The Herald shows that it was not intended to reach everybody on time, so many people went to the inspection centres without the required documents and they were turned away - many will never go back for a second chance. A close analysis of the affected areas shows that they are mostly urban areas, where the opposition enjoys great support," Magade told IRIN. Reginald-Matchaba Hove of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) concurred that the new requirement was a worrying development. He said the ZESN also doubted the impartiality of the new Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) under the High Court judge, Justice George Chiweshe, a retired officer and former advocate in the Zimbabwe National Army's military courts. Minister of justice Patrick Chinamasa dismissed fears of massive disenfranchisement as unfounded, adding that the impartiality of his officials was beyond doubt. "I do not see how people can say the requirement of a proof of residence disenfranchises prospective voters - people should just take the necessary documentation to the inspection centres if they are genuine residents who pay rates. The allegation that ZANU-PF councillors and traditional leaders are refusing to issue the necessary documentation to suspected MDC [Movement for Democratic Change] supporters is news to me. It will be investigated, but I have not come across any such complaints during my tour of inspection centres in the rural areas," said Chinamasa. Remius Makuvaza of the opposition MDC's directorate of elections said the party would only comment on allegations of irregularities after receiving reports from its inspection monitoring posts, but confirmed that there were unofficial reports of serious improprieties. "We are still compiling our national report, but initial indications are of gross irregularities in the urban areas. Frustration is also high in the rural areas," he told IRIN. A team of lawyers from the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) is due in the country this weekend as part of its first mission to check on Zimbabwe's compliance with the SADC electoral guidelines, adopted at the regional conference in Mauritius last August. The MDC maintains that the government has failed to reform the electoral process to conform to the letter and spirit of the guidelines. Citing the continued arrest of its members and officials, denial of access to the media for campaign purposes, and the appointment of an allegedely pro-government judge as chairman of the ZEC, among other concerns, the MDC has called for the elections to be postponed until June at the earliest. The SADC troika of South African President Thabo Mbeki, Botswana President Festus Mogae and Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili is due in the capital, Harare, before the elections, to check on the country's compliance with the electoral guidelines.