Melinda Kusemachibi
Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) held an Enhanced Informal Sector Voter Mobilization and Advocacy Initiative (EISeVOMA) workshop in ward 4 Beitbridge last week where they engaged young women, people living with disabilities and informal traders as part of efforts to increase voter participation
VISET Programmes Manager Gillian Chinzete said the objective of the workshop was to increase participation of the once marginalised groups in electoral processes.
“The main objective of this workshop is to increase participation of young women, informal traders, people with disabilities, all of whom have hitherto been neglected groups when it comes to voter education campaigns, yet they are the majority,” said Chinzete.
Chinzete also took participants through the provisions of the Electoral Act as defined in the constitution as well as powers of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) as she emphasized on the requirements for those intending to register to vote.
She outlined that the electoral cycle and the attendant stages that consisted of pre-election with activities like budgeting, funding as well as logistics.
“Electoral cycle consists of pre-election stages that incorporate activities such as budgeting and funding of elections as well as logistics and procurements.
“The electoral period involves campaigns, nominations and manifestos by contesting parties and candidates. The post-election period’s key feature is delimitation, where constituency boundaries are re-drawn based on changes in demographics and this is why it is important for continuous voter registration to take place throughout so as not to lose wards and constituencies thereby compromising development initiative,” said Chinzete.
One of the participants at the workshop said that they are scared to be involved in electoral processes as the main parties do not focus on them.
“We are hesitant to be involved in electoral matters as we feel that both main parties are not focusing on us, generally in their messaging,” said the participant.
The participant also said they would vote for those that articulate their needs.
“We intend to ensure that we would vote for those that could articulate our needs as young people in the informal sector on issues like market space infrastructure, licensing and sewer systems,” noted the participant.
However, on the way forward, VISET Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Edward Kapodogo encouraged participants to make use of their peers, business associates, and family members to impart knowledge learnt from the workshop.
“Participants must utilize their spheres of influence through their peers, business associates and family members to ensure they impart knowledge learnt from the workshop in order to increase the number of registered voters.”
“A whatsApp group would be created to carry on the conversations and render any required support in mobilizing people to registration centers,” said Kapodogo.
