Chaos and lack of preparedness delay rural council elections

By Lance Guma
28 October 2006

There was chaos at major polling stations across the country on Saturday as scheduled rural council elections failed to take off on time. According to Nelson Chamisa, a spokesman for the Tsvangirai MDC the polling stations were supposed to open at 7am but even around 11am some of them remained closed as they were waiting for ballot boxes.

Despite assurances by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission earlier in the week that preparations were on course for the elections Chamisa says thousands of people had to stand in queues waiting to vote. He says opposition strongholds have mainly been affected and this was a deliberate strategy to disadvantage the MDC.

A combination of a lack of resources to run the elections and a desire to make the playing field uneven is thought to be at the core of the problems. Pre-election violence has also been a major issue for the opposition. Several homes and business premises belonging to MDC candidates and supporters have been destroyed while some of its members have been physically assaulted.