HARARE – The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) on Monday said political parties were to blame for apathy and poor voter registration among young people.
Speaking at an event hosted by 4-H Zimbabwe, a non-governmental organisation on youth voter registration and participation, ZEC spokesman Jasper Mangwana said political parties were discouraging voting.
“There seems to be voter apathy amongst youths. I will tell you my opinion. Because you are the same people who want to be voted for, one day you go to the same constituency and say go and register to vote for me,” Mangwana said.
“You go back to the same constituency and say your vote is rigged. Do you expect that person to take you seriously? Do you really think that young person under normal circumstances will go to a ZEC registration office and say I have come to register to vote? There is no reason for young people to come and register to vote.”
ZEC said it registered 109,405 new voters during a mobile voter registration blitz between 11 and 30 April. The elections body had registered 81,742 new voters in the first phase which ran between February 1 and 28.
