THE Welshman Ncube-led MDC has called on Registrar General (RG) Tobaiwa Mudede to introduce an online voter registration system, saying the current process was out of sync with modern trends.
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Party secretary-general Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga said the current process is cumbersome and discourages the youths from registering as voters.
“Cognisant of the trends the world over, we feel that in this technological era, the current system of voter registration in Zimbabwe is nonsensical,” Misihairabwi Mushonga said in a statement on Friday.
“While we welcome the introduction of mobile registration points, the MDC feels that the process is unnecessarily cumbersome, which discourages the younger generation from registering as voters.” Mudede could not be reached for comment at the time of going to print yesterday.
Misihairabwi Mushonga cited long queues at the RG’s offices as one of the reasons why youths are reluctant to go and register to vote. “If implemented (online registration) as soon as possible, we are convinced that we can push up the dismal 18% youth voter turnout that was recorded during the 2008 elections to a more significant number in the imminent polls,” she said.
“With online registration, queues which are a common feature at most voter registration points could be reduced. This would also boost the registration of young voters who do not want the hassle of queuing to register.”
The RG’s Office late last year introduced an online passport application exercise and Misihairabwi Mushonga urged Mudede to “introduce a similar system for voter registration”.
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According to statistics, about 1,3 million people in Zimbabwe have Internet access.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) requires about $9 million for a voter registration exercise and last week, acting Finance minister Theresa Makone announced that government would immediately release $13 million.
The exercise should have commenced in the first week of this month.
