Civic groups angry over move to ban voter education campaign
More than a dozen civic groups in the country yesterday reacted angrily to proposals by the government to bar them from conducting voter education campaigns. On Monday, the Minister of State for Information and Publicity, Professor Jonathan Moyo, announced that the government was working out a policy on voter education which would see churches and aid agencies being barred from undertaking any voter education programmes. The policy, Moyo said, would be expected to spell out that voter education should be conducted by the Electoral Supervisory Commission and political parties, effectively excluding churches, aid agencies or civic organisations.
But the 15 civic groups reacted angrily, saying they would reject any attempts by government to stop them from providing voter education to the electorate. In a statement issued last night, the organisations said it was their constitutional right and obligation to educate and inform society on the laws of the country, including electoral laws, and on citizen rights and responsibilities. The civil groups say that the move denies citizens of their constitutional right to freedom of expression, association and information. The statement noted ‘the extremely poor performance of government in voter education in recent elections and the critical role played by civic groups in providing what is an essential component of free and fair elections’.
The civic groups said they would be seeking an immediate clarification from the government. ‘The groups reject unreservedly any allegations that the voter education provided by civic groups is partisan and call on the Minister of Information and Publicity to retract this unsubstantiated and malevolent allegation. ‘The groups will take all measures to defend their legal and social rights and responsibility to inform and educate the public,’ the statement said.