Mr Utoile Silaigwana
Felex Share and Freeman Razemba, Harare Bureau
THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) is processing postal vote applications and political malcontents alleging that members of the uniformed forces voted yesterday want to cause alarm and despondency ahead of the July 30 harmonised elections.
This was said by Zec acting chief elections officer Mr Utoile Silaigwana after social media went awash with images of police officers purported to be casting their ballots.
ZRP commander for this year’s harmonised elections Senior Assistant Commissioner Erasmus Makodza also allayed fears of vote rigging by police officers saying only those on duty on voting day qualified for postal voting.
This exposed MDC-Alliance partner and PDP president Mr Tendai Biti who, based on the social media reports, rushed to convene a press conference in Harare claiming there was voting at various cantonments.
He failed to name the cantonments, only saying voting was taking place at Ross Camp in Bulawayo.
Mr Biti, then MDC-T secretary general, was arrested in 2008 for announcing unofficial presidential results when he claimed that the late Mr Morgan Tsvangirai had won by 50.3 percent to obviate a run-off.
Mr Silaigwana yesterday described as hogwash reports of postal voting.
“This is very stupid propaganda because in the first place they have photos of a police officer standing near a ballot box yet with postal voting a voter does not use a ballot box,” he said.
“Postal voting is where an individual applies for postal voting and he or she is given a ballot paper in an envelope and he returns it sealed. This is cheap propaganda without substance at all. This is coming from a person who does not even understand the process. The pictures they put have nothing to do with postal voting and these people just want cause despondency in the country,” he said.
Over 7 000 people have applied for postal voting, a majority of them diplomats.
The law states that postal voting is available to individuals and their spouses who are outside Zimbabwe on Government business on polling day.
Security and polling officers on duty on voting day are also eligible for postal voting.
Mr Silaigwana said people circulating incorrect information were “irresponsible and uncouth.”
“Our citizens must not be hoodwinked by such propaganda which is meant to disturb their elections,” he said.
“I wish the citizens of this country would be sensitive and guard against this type of propaganda. They want to taint our elections and we are making sure people are going to vote and exercise their right properly. Anyone, including polling officers, who will be outside their polling stations and outside the country on State duties are eligible for postal voting. What I can tell you is that at the moment we are still processing their postal vote applications.”
Snr Ass Comm Makodza said: “The Zimbabwe Republic Police wishes to set the record straight and allay fears of vote rigging by police officers as claimed in some social media messages which are circulating.
“The correct position is that some police officers will be performing security duties in other provinces which are not their normal work stations. Thus in terms of Section 72 of the Electoral Act, the concerned police officers will exercise their right to vote through a postal ballot system which is being administered by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.”
He said provinces like Bulawayo had excess manpower.
The excess staff would be deployed in Matabeleland North province.
“In fact the total number of police officers who applied for the postal ballot does not go beyond 4 000,” said Snr Ass Comm Makodza.
“The rest of police officers will actually cast their ballots on 30th July 2018 as earlier revealed by the ZRP Command and Zec in numerous meetings and workshop briefings. The whole process is conducted according to Section 75 of the Electoral Act, Chapter 2:13.”
Those who qualify for postal voting should also be on the voters’ roll.
Postal voting is only open to such people who apply to do so within 14 days after the sitting of the Nomination Court.
The successful applicants are furnished with the voting material in advance and are required to send their votes in sealed packets to the chief elections officer at least 14 days before the actual date of the poll.