Voters demand removal of portrait
PEOPLE queuing to vote at Zengeza 4 Primary School in Chitungwiza on Saturday demanded that a portrait of President Mugabe’s be removed from the entrance to the polling station.
VOTERS at Zengeza 4 Primary School in Chitungwiza refused to vote under the watchful eye of President Mugabe. They demanded that his officialportrait be removed from the polling station, saying its presence was intimidatory and amounted to campaigning for Zanu PF.
The portrait, hanging next to the doorway into the polling station, was removed. Several people, among the 200 voters queuing at the polling station complained, and attracted the attention of the Electoral Supervisory Commission monitors.
The voters complained that the presence of the portrait constituted campaign material for Zanu PF. The monitors approached Felix Mukwenya, the presiding officer, over the matter.
Mukwenya said he had ignored the portrait because it was found in most government institutions. “But if some people are offended by the portrait, it has to be removed,” said Mukwenya.”Please find a caretaker to put it away.”"
Perkins Mupazviripo, son of the caretaker at the school, then removed it.
Mugabe’s portraits are found in government institutions, including schools.
The voters, however, argued that Mugabe was the leader of Zanu PF, and the presence of his portrait in the polling station amounted to campaigning for his party at the polling station.
According to the Electoral Act, campaigning is not permitted within 100 metres of a polling station.
Thousands of people turned out to vote in Chitungwiza on Saturday. Most people complained that process was slow.
Several people were turned away because their names did not appear on the voters’ roll.
Outside the polling stations, the police were arresting people for public drinking. Two people were arrested at a shopping centre near St Mary’s Hall, a polling station