Zim doubles polling stations
2005-03-12 21:18
Special Report
A classical music presenter for the BBC has been arrested and is in custody in Zimbabwe.
Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's electoral commission has pledged to double the number of voting stations to help to prove that this month's parliamentary elections will be free and fair.
High Court Judge George Chiweshe, who chairs the recently established Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, said preparations for the polls were "95% completed", the state-run Herald newspaper reported on Saturday.
Commission officials have "completed a week's tour of the country to assess the logistical state of preparedness in the various provinces and constituencies," Chiweshe said.
"Indications are that all preparations are on course," the paper quoted him as saying.
Zimbabwe's March 31 polls have been placed under the international spotlight, with observers anxious to see whether President Robert Mugabe's government abides by regional rules for free and fair polls.
Presidential elections in 2002 were characterised by long winding queues at polling stations in Harare, a stronghold of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
The opposition accused the government of deliberately reducing the number of polling stations to make it harder for opposition supporters to cast their ballots in favour of MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
This time, Chiweshe said, 8 227 polling stations will be set up in all of the country's 10 provinces - more than double the number used in previous elections.
Harare alone is expected to have 522 polling stations, up from 167 polling stations in the presidential elections, he said.
For the first time since independence from white minority rule in 1980, Zimbabwe will be holding elections on one day as opposed to two. Ballot counting will also take place at individual polling stations and new, translucent ballot boxes will replace wooden ones used in previous elections.
More than 43 000 ballot boxes are already in the country out of an expected total of 50 000, Chiweshe said.
The government says the new measures should cut the risk of vote-rigging. The MDC says victory was stolen from it during parliamentary elections in 2000 and the presidential elections in 2002.
The MDC maintains that the new electoral commission is not independent, since Chiweshe was personally appointed by Mugabe while the other four commissioners were nominated by parliament which is dominated by the Zanu-PF ruling party.
The opposition has also condemned the fact that voter registration was carried out by the government, and not by the electoral commission as required by the Southern African Development Community.
International observer bodies, including one from community and another composed of South African lawmakers, are due in Zimbabwe early next week to begin observing the run-up to election day. Zimbabwe did not invited EU or American observers.
Both the opposition and the ruling party agree there has been a decrease in the level of violence that characterised the run-up to 2000 elections.
- AP