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Zec yet to recognise Mudzi South

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THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) is yet to respond to a letter of demand by Mudzi South legislator Jonathan Samukange who wants his constituency to be captured in the biometric voter registration (BVR) database.

THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) is yet to respond to a letter of demand by Mudzi South legislator Jonathan Samukange who wants his constituency to be captured in the biometric voter registration (BVR) database.

BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE/ BLESSED MHLANGA

The Zanu PF MP has given Zec up to October 24 to respond to his concerns failure of which he will approach the High Court to compel the electoral body to register his constituency. Zec chairperson Rita Makarau yesterday said she was yet to receive the letter.

“I will respond to it when I see it,” Makarau said.

Samukange told NewsDay that he would proceed with court proceedings if Zec fails to rectify the anomaly.

The whole Mudzi South constituency is missing from the Zec database in the ongoing BVR exercise, throwing into question the credibility of the process.

“Mudzi South does not exist in your BVR register and I have been receiving complaints since October 9, when registration commenced,” wrote Samukange in a letter of demand.

He said upon trying to get clarification, he was told that potential voters in his constituency should either register to vote in Mudzi North or West constituencies.

“I am worried by the amount of negligence which is almost reckless that the whole constituency can be missing on the radar. Mudzi North, West and South constituencies were created at the same time and have been in existence for a while now and there is no logical explanation as to why the constituency is missing,” Samukange demanded.

In the letter copied to the Secretary for Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Virginia Mabhiza, and Attorney-General Advocate Prince Machaya, Samukange also claimed that there were several other constituencies missing from the Zec database. Last week, Zec vice-chairperson Emmanuel Magade said the anomaly was being rectified.

“There was that anomaly that we had to click under Mudzi North to register voters for Mudzi South constituency and indeed they were registered and assigned the correct polling stations. As we speak, in the two days the blitz has been running we have registered 1 816 women voters and 1 267 men, giving us a total of 3 083,” Magade said.