Rutendo Chirume
Zimbabwe National Student Union (Zinasu) has brought voter mobilization campaign to Masvingo where they held a student conference at Victoria hotel on November 25 to come up with ways and modalities to encourage people to register to vote in the 2023 harmonised elections.
The programme is running under the theme, ‘My Vote, My Voice, My Future’ and aims at making sure that every student has a duty to mobilize as many people as they can to register to vote.
Students from Great Zimbabwe, Morgenster Teachers, Mushandike Wildlife, Masvingo Polytechnic and Teachers’ colleges attended the event.
Coordinator of the event national Legal Secretary Jingani Shoko reminded other students’ significance in shaping and changing the future.
Jingani also highlighted that the campaign will not focus only on students but will use students to mobilise everyone eligible to vote to register and they are going to merge with other organizations pushing the mantra #register to vote.
“This campaign will not only focus on students to register, but we are the future and it is our task to ensure that every citizen eligible to vote has registered. I urge you to use your ability to approach citizens or even to challenge political figures to deliver their promises because what we are striving for even as we are gathered here, is change.
“We are gathered here so that together you and I can play a part in shaping and changing the future because your vote is your voice and will determine your future,” said Jingani.
Among other guests who attended the conference were Farayi ‘Cde Fatso’ Chinobva MDC-Alliance’national director in the organizing department said he will organize a student with the Party President in Masvingo
“This event is very close to my heart as it marks the first step towards change and I appreciate the efforts you are putting to ensure that every citizen is registered to vote. The last time Chamisa was here, he had an opportunity to meet people living with disabilities and this time I assure you that he is going to have an interface with students from all colleges and universities just like what he did in Bulawayo and Harare (University of Zimbabwe).
Outgoing Zinasu president Takudzwa Ngadziore who gave closing remarks called for unity amongst Zinasu members to ensure development of the union and said he was stepping down as president but the union has to move forward.
“In order to go forward as a union we need to remain united and continue to fight for the learner’s freedom. I am stepping down to further my academic ambitions among other things but the union has to go forward,” said Ngadziore.
Other modalities which were brought forward include online and physical campaigns and approaching other organizations partnering to mobilise as many people to go and register to vote, set aside political affiliations in order to get people to register and allowances for people who would be doing these campaigns.
In October Zinasu held a similar programme in Harare and is going around the provinces endorsing the ‘My Vote, My Voice, and My Future Campaign’.
The voter registration campaign comes at a time when the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has suspended the mobile voter registration exercise up until February 2022.
