Copies of the privately owned daily Newsday were reportedly torn in Harare on 2 March 2011 by suspected Zanu PF youths on their way to an anti-sanctions campaign launched by President Robert Mugabe.
The youths tore copies of the newspaper in the central business district accusing it of publishing lies.
Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) chief executive Raphael Khumalo said he was extremely disappointed by the behaviour of the youths and blamed police inaction to deal with such violent behaviour.
“This is not the first time that we have lost newspapers when these gatherings occur and it is uncalled for that we continue to suffer when the police are there to maintain law and order. “These young people need jobs and if they were employed they would not be easily manipulated to do (sic) such nefarious acts,” said Khumalo.
In a related development, copies of The Masvingo Mirror were reportedly banned from Jerera Growth point in Masvingo Province.
MISA-Zimbabwe position
MISA-Zimbabwe views these developments as serious attacks on media freedom and the citizens’ right to access diverse information, views and opinions. We urge the authorities to condemn these violations against citizens’ right to access to information more so in the context of Article 19 of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) which binds the three signatory parties to uphold the right to freedom of expression and communication.
The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) should also investigate these violations as mandated in terms of Constitutional Amendment No 19 and urge the police to deal with these acts of wanton lawlessness. MISA
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
A third of dead registered voters appeared on the 2008 voter’s roll - ZESN
Nearly a third of Zimbabwean registered voters on the voters’ roll that was used in the 2008 elections were dead, an observation report that was released in Harare today by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) says. ZESN, a civic organisation that seeks to promote democratic elections in Zimbabwe, in 2010 embarked on a Voters’ Roll Audit (VRA) to assess the quality of the voters’ roll.
In its report, it noted that the list-to-people test showed that 27 percent of the voters in the voters’ roll were deceased, a figure which translate to a third of the registered voters. “The computer test revealed that 2 344 people born between 1901 and 1909, therefore aged between 101 and 110 years were on the voters’ roll. Nine people born between 1890 and 1900, aged between 111 and 120 years are registered voters,” report says.
The ZESN report notes that 41 percent of the registered voters are no longer residing at the address in the voters’ roll. “In related evidence, Masvingo Urban MP, Tongai Matutu, shocked Parliament when he produced evidence that the voters’ roll used in the 2008 national elections had names of hundreds of dead people and infants who had been registered to vote,” the report says.
A total of 503 people dead people appeared in the voters’ roll. The same voters’ roll had 144 202 people aged 90 years and above 115 voters belowe the age of 18 years (the legal voting age). The youngest was obesrved to be one year old. Startlingly, all the 503 dead people had a similar date of birth - 1 January 1901. Hon. Matutu explained that such anomalies showed “the extent to which the voters’ roll should represent the graveyard”.
In its recommendations, ZESN said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) should draw up a new voters’ roll which will go a long way in improving the currency, and completeness of the voters’ roll. It says the process should be transparent and inclusive to ensure that all eligible people are registered. ZESN said for a voter education, which should include information on how relatives can help the Registrar with objections and deletions of their deceased relatives from the voters’ roll.
-www.kubatana.net
In its report, it noted that the list-to-people test showed that 27 percent of the voters in the voters’ roll were deceased, a figure which translate to a third of the registered voters. “The computer test revealed that 2 344 people born between 1901 and 1909, therefore aged between 101 and 110 years were on the voters’ roll. Nine people born between 1890 and 1900, aged between 111 and 120 years are registered voters,” report says.
The ZESN report notes that 41 percent of the registered voters are no longer residing at the address in the voters’ roll. “In related evidence, Masvingo Urban MP, Tongai Matutu, shocked Parliament when he produced evidence that the voters’ roll used in the 2008 national elections had names of hundreds of dead people and infants who had been registered to vote,” the report says.
A total of 503 people dead people appeared in the voters’ roll. The same voters’ roll had 144 202 people aged 90 years and above 115 voters belowe the age of 18 years (the legal voting age). The youngest was obesrved to be one year old. Startlingly, all the 503 dead people had a similar date of birth - 1 January 1901. Hon. Matutu explained that such anomalies showed “the extent to which the voters’ roll should represent the graveyard”.
In its recommendations, ZESN said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) should draw up a new voters’ roll which will go a long way in improving the currency, and completeness of the voters’ roll. It says the process should be transparent and inclusive to ensure that all eligible people are registered. ZESN said for a voter education, which should include information on how relatives can help the Registrar with objections and deletions of their deceased relatives from the voters’ roll.
-www.kubatana.net
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