Tinaani Nyabereka
Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) last week engaged youths in Gweru on voter education as efforts to capacitate young people.
Addressing young people at the Africa Youth Month celebrations last week in Gweru, ZESN Midlands taskforce vice chairperson, Merjury Makunere said it was important for young people to be equipped on voter education as youths are a key sector in national building.
She added that ZEC was mandated to provide adequate civic and voter education campaigns to citizens.
“The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is the only organisation which is authorized to conduct voter education. Therefore, if Civic Society Organisation (CSOs) want to conduct voter education, they seek permission from ZEC.
“When an organisation is granted permission to host the exercise, ZEC then goes on to monitor if the educational process is adequate and not misleading. Voter education is done under stipulated laws as it is not conducted on partisan grounds,” she added.
Makunere further highlighted the electoral cycle structure saying it was a key feature that the electorate was supposed to embrace.
“There is need to be well conversant with the electoral cycle because it does not stop. We all know that the registration blitz was halted last week, but if you go to ZEC centres now with your identification particulars you can register to vote. The centres are opened 24/7 to offer such services.
“Voter registration is key as it helps eliminate those ineligible to vote from voting. We have some clusters not permitted by the law to vote. These include those in prisons, people below the age of 18 among others,” added Makunere.
Last week ZEC postponed the mobile voter registration which was scheduled to commence on the December 6, 2021 up to February 2022 as the Registrar’s office was not issuing national Identity Cards due to resource challenges.
Meanwhile, Young Man Christian Alliance (YMCA), Acting Coordinator, and Tafadzwa Makore urged youths to shape the Africa they want through participation in elections.
“As youths we have a great role to play in nation building considering the fact that young people constitute the majority of Africa’s population.
“There is no doubt that we are the heart of Africa’s development agenda. We can build Africa only if we are a united front which stands and tolerate one another’s perceptions,” Makore said.
The Africa Youth Month was born after the adoption of the African Youth Charter through an executive council decision of the Banjul Summit of 2006.
The development saw the 1st of November being declared ‘Africa Youth Day.’
As the day is celebrated annually, it is centred on increasing awareness, commitment and investment in youth through participation and partnerships across the divide.
The commemorations were held under the theme “Defining the future today: Youth-led solutions for building the Africa we want”.
