By Thobekile Khumalo
A low turnout for today’s by-elections is seen across the country which has been attributed to ZEC failure to provide voters education.
Voters with elections on their wards are not even aware that there are ongoing elections to fill seats left vacant after the death or recall of candidates.
By midday places like Thorngrove polling station in Bulawayo had only 37 voters; 26 females and 11 males.
In Gwanda central a ZANU-PF candidate allegedly bought votes by drilling a borehole these past weeks and earlier this morning distributed mealie-meal to citizens.
In Kwekwe Amaveni, which is highly contested a huge chunk of voters were turned away after they failed to locate their names on the voters roll. Only a few who went inside to enquire eventually found their names.
A voter said: “Civil society is being told not to intervene in politics but it is needed because ZEC is not doing its job in educating people and giving them all the necessary information, such organisations are needed for the society to fully function”.
Aonther added: “Yes ZEC is not doing its job adequately, parties are not doing theirs as well but people are too ignorant as well. By-elections are not taken seriously and only a few bother to go and register to vote and actually go on to vote”.
