Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC says political parties, except Zanu PF, are yet to receive the voters’ roll to be used in Wednesday’s crucial elections.

By Elias Mambo

Briefing journalists this morning, MDC-T secretary-general Tendai Biti said it was alarming that only Zanu PF was in possession of the voters’ roll, which should have been distributed to political parties last Thursday.

“We have been asking the Zec (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) for the voters’ roll and they referred us to the RG (Registrar-General)’s office,” Biti said. “I want to believe that even Zec is not in possession of the voters’ roll yet it is the electoral managing body.”

Independent electoral organisations claim that the voters’ roll is in shambles and would be used by President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party to rig the elections.

Mugabe is facing a stiff challenge to his 33-year-old rule from Tsvangirai. MDC leaders Welshman Ncube and Zapu president Dumiso Dabengwa are also eyeing the presidency.

Biti also claimed that Zec was yet to release a list of polling stations throughout the country, two days before the poll.

“How are we going to deploy our monitors and agents if we do not know how many polling stations will be there?” questioned Biti. “What if they increase the number of polling stations overnight, how are the agents going to be accredited when the law requires that accreditation should take two weeks before elections?

He said the MDC-T had notified the African Union and Sadc observer teams of the irregularities, including alleged plans to rig the polls.

“The number of polling stations in Harare, which has a population of 2,4 million, has been decreased to 875 yet in 2008 Harare had 920 stations,” Biti said.

“We also have reports that Zec is printing two million ballots more than the eight million that has been reported and that serial numbers of the ballot papers are being done by police yet we have Fidelity and government printers who have the capacity to do that.”

He said the MDC-T would not accept another stolen election.

“We are not going to accept a stolen election like in 2002 and 2008. We will not accept such illegality,” Biti said without elaborating what MDC-T would do should polls be rigged.

Zec was not available for comment.

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