Mobile voter registration in Zimbabwe was meant to begin in January. But the three week exercise has only finally gotten underway recently. The publicity around it has been poor, and the rules have been changing along the way. Take for example, Saturday’s Herald headline: ZEC waives voter registration requirements. This development will make it easier for some people to register moving forward, but it prejudices those who might have tried earlier this year, and who were turned away.

I was prompted to try my luck at a mobile voter registration station this weekend, when I saw a flyer that said I could also get a replacement ID at the same spot. Since I need the ID before I can register anyway, it seemed like a great opportunity. Granted, I heard about the initiative late in the day – So I was not among the “early birds.” By the time I got to Courtney Selous Primary School around 3pm on Sunday, the place was packed. There were easily 250 people there, some sitting on the grass outside the school grounds, a short queue at the gate, and a large knot of people inside the school forming at least four different queues.

After 20 minutes spent wandering around the various queues at trying to figure out where I should stand to get a replacement ID, and another hour standing in the correct but slow-moving queue for a replacement ID, it began to dawn on me that I would never get served before the spot closed at 6, so I left empty handed.

The fact that there were so many people there is encouraging – And means that maybe voter education around the new Constitution and changing requirements for voters is paying off. It also means that maybe interest in Zimbabwe’s 2013 elections is greater than some analysts had feared, and makes things like the reported high voter turn out in the Constitutional referendum perhaps more credible.

But mobile voter registration needs more days, more locations and more clarity. If it is not just to be one more example of Zimbabwe’s politicians paying lip service to citizen participation, and doing the bare minimum to tick the various boxes to demonstrate compliance with required processes, the exercise should be extended for at least another month, with more stations and more signage and directions for people about what to bring, where to go, and where to queue once they get there.

Mobile voter registration is currently underway in Zimbabwe. You can find out where the mobile voter registration teams are, and when, by downloading the list from our website. Search the list for your province and district, and check the dates for when they will be in your area.

Visit the Registrar General’s website or the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission website to find out what documentation you need to bring with you to register to vote.

Regarding mobile voter registration, one Kubatana subscriber reports this from Chikomba East:

People frustrated – Mobile voter registration is continuing with irregularities here in Chikomba East. Firstly, its publicity is & information dissemination is poor & confusing especially on payment of lost I.Ds. Again, the proof of residence issue must be reviewed as it is affecting & must be replaced with specially designed affidavits. Youths & new voters are being frustrated by the RG’s staff whose conduct is uncooperative. Most MDC supporters names are not in the voters roll & it is surprising. Also, the 6 hour-one day time per station is not adequate.

These comments reflect observations also made by the National Youth Development Trust (NYDT) in their analysis of mobile voter registration so far.

Get registered! Find out when the mobile voter registration team will be near you, and let us know how it went for you when you registered to vote.

I attended university during a period where going to school seemed like wasting one’s precious time and adding more strain on family’s financial budgets. This was the period of 2006-2010 where Zimbabwe went through a major economic downfall, the 2008 elections and the dollarisation of the currency – a very difficult period. It did appear much better for one to quit school and cross the border to a neighbouring country as they would be guaranteed of access to their needs and wants. It is during this period that corruption within the various systems in the university grew like it was growing in any other sector in the country. You could see how people would manipulate the system because of a certain commodity they held, which was in demand. You would be shocked to hear what a lecturer would do when promised a bag of maize. As the economy got better with goods and commodities available, corruption, like cancer, still existed.

Students in Kenya and Uganda have established an anonymous website, Not In My Country which seeks to expose acts of corruption within universities in these two countries. By acting as whistle blowers, students rate their lecturers’ performances and have an optional field to explain their ratings. These are crowd sourced to provide ratings. In South Africa, university students at Wits are using the university newspaper, Vuvuzela, to expose lecturers who engage in misconduct in their work through sexual harassment. Students all over have been using various media to expose corruption within their universities but these are only effective if the university’s authorities take up their responsibility by investigating matters reported. Systems run by students often fall short as university staff protect each other as investigations or follow ups on reported cases are not made.

Zimbabwean electoral reform and conditions are the subject of much discussion as Parliament begins debate on Zimbabwe’s Draft Constitution this week.

The Constitution, however, is just the beginning. As an article prepared for the Zimbabwe Election Support Network points out, a great deal of legal reform needs to happen in the coming months to prepare for Zimbabwe’s elections. For example, Zimbabwe’s Electoral Act will need to be revised to accommodate new structures including proportional representation.

In addition, the Zimbabwean electoral landscape needs to loosen up. This includes the media, the voter registration process, and also a respect for basic human rights like freedom of association, expression and assembly.

The International Crisis Group’s latest report Zimbabwe: Election Scenarios recognises the challenges that Zimbabwe’s electoral process will face this year, but is optimistic that if SADC draws “red lines” (think the US + Syria) which are enforced, Zimbabwe’s next election could be peaceful, and yield a credible result.

But as they note in their conclusion:

Progress is possible, but only if fundamental contradictions between the parties’ interpretation of what is now required are resolved. Whereas the MDC formations have called for the full resolution of outstanding election roadmap issues even after adoption of a new constitution, ZANU-PF says the new constitution should supersede the roadmap. Without agreement on such important issues, Zimbabwe is not ready for elections. At the same time, without a more concerted effort, there is no guarantee that deferring the election further will indeed lead to reform. At the very least, more robust engagement of civil society and citizens with SADC facilitators and GPA mechanisms, such as the JOMIC, is required to develop confidence in Zimbabwe’s battered institutions, especially through the deployment of an expanded monitoring presence.

This is exactly the problem: “Without agreement on such important issues, Zimbabwe is not ready for elections. At the same time, without a more concerted effort, there is no guarantee that deferring the election further will indeed lead to reform.”

If neither local politicians nor pressure from SADC have helped get agreement on these issues yet, why will the next six months be any different?

I felt my stomach drop before my mind had even consciously registered the sound: Sirens. On my way to work this morning, the car I was in had to pull over to let the Presidential motorcade pass. As we waited, we watched the outriders bully cars into various positions. I felt angry with the power they were exerting; and helpless in the face of my own fear: Don’t let them come here.

The motorcade whizzed past, the police drove their motorcycles drove off, and I finally exhaled.

Overall, it was less than five minutes – but it cast a shadow over my whole morning.

If I were president, I’d want my five minute morning encounters with motorists and pedestrians to make the hundreds of people I pass each day feel better -  not worse. Okay, so maybe I wouldn’t dish out candy and flowers every day. But surely the daily show of force and aggression does more harm than good?

I’ve wanted to take this photo for a while now because it expresses how I feel about politics in Zimbabwe. It’s all such cock and bull as politicians jockey for privilege and power for their own benefit. Maybe that’s politics the world over, but I find it very depressing at this time  in my home country. As the 2013 elections loom large more then ever there seems so little to differentiate between the main political players. Arrogance is writ large and self aggrandisement is the name of the game.