IT is not surprising that Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede this week rejected calls to take advantage of the computer age and digitalisation to introduce electronic voter registration.
Editorial Comment
Mudede’s office has over the years been accused of manipulating the voters’ roll to deliver electoral victory to President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF on a silver platter. Voter registration has been abused to achieve parochial political objectives. The voters’ roll has — and remains — in a shambles, thanks to Mudede and his office’s flat-earth mentality set in a medieval mindset. On our voters’ roll there are children under the legal age of majority — 18 years — and the dead.
On this backcloth, it is crystal clear that Mudede wants the current voter registration process to remain in place.
“Online registration does not have adequate checks and balances to detect electoral fraud,” Mudede said.
“There is a strong probability that some people will be involved in the abuse of passwords to register or transfer voters without their consent to deliberately distort and corrupt the voters’ roll.
“The requirement of proof of residence for voters both in Zimbabwe and those outside is a challenge.
“Physical verification of the voter will not be catered for as aptly provided for by the statute.”
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It is astounding to countenance Mudede’s warped reasoning that if his office introduces electronic voter registration, it would be impossible to detect electoral fraud. It is also rank madness to argue against electronic registration on the basis of lack of Internet access in rural areas.
Mobile penetration is increasing at break-neck speed in Zimbabwe and almost every rural homestead has access to Internet via their cellphone. This allows easy access to the Internet, thereby facilitating electronic registration.
Electronic registration eliminates multiple registrations and ensures that the voters’ roll has details of only eligible voters. Security features are encrypted in the electronic system to stop hacking and other vices.
Mudede’s lame excuses should be dismissed with the scorn and contempt they deserve. As a nation, we need to embrace technology. We should join other progressive countries in Africa, such as Kenya, who last year adopted a biometric voter registration process ahead of elections on March 4 this year.
Progressive nations no longer debate the merits and demerits of electronic voter registration, but are moving forward to electronic voting. Mudede should note.
There are several advantages for electronic voting. One of the advantages is ease of tabulating the results. All counting and ordering is done by a machine, quickly and efficiently, and without human error or manipulation — an apparently worrying development for Mudede and his office.
Mudede must move with the times. He should be techno-savvy or leave the Registrar-General’s Office to those who can do the job!
