Over a quarter of voters on Zimbabwe’s electoral rolls ‘are dead’
By ANISaturday, January 22, 2011
HARARE - Over a quarter of the names on Zimbabwe electoral roll are dead, according to a report by an independent electoral organisation.
The Telegraph quoted the report as also revealing that more that 2,000 voters mentioned on the roll are more than 100 years old.
“The computer test revealed 2,344 people born between 1901 and 1909 aged between 101 and 110 years old. It also revealed nine people born between 1890 and 1900 aged between 111 and 120 years old. There were 93 children below one year old,” the report said.
President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party has said the country would vote this year to end the veteran leader’s near-two-year power-sharing government with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the paper said.
In the previous elections, contestants and observers had cited “ghost voters” on the country’s electoral roll.
Zimbabwe’s electoral commission said that the lack of funds is a hurdle that needs to be handled so that a clean voters’ list could be prepared this year.
ZANU-PF and the MDC previously agreed to draft a new constitution before the country’s next elections, but a drive to gather input for the document has been hampered by reports of political intimidation. (ANI)
