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Registrar General's office derailing registration of potential new voters
Youth Forum
July 13, 2011

The 'Youth Go Register To Vote' campaign, which seeks to help one million young people to register as voters before the next elections, registered significant progress over the past two days, 13-14 July 2011, as a number of the formed Voters Clubs managed to register their members as voters with the help from Youth Forum officers in different districts of the country.

Information reaching the Youth Forum Information Department is that only a few of the clubs' members controversially failed to register as they had already been informed of the requirements for registration by the various districts' Youth Forum officers.

The Youth Forum embarked on the much-acclaimed 'Youth Go Register to Vote' Campaign after research showed that only a few youths (less than 15%) were constructively involved in the voting process in a country where more than 60% of the citizens are below the age of 35. The target of the campaign is to register at least 1,000,000 (one million) new young voters before the next election is conducted and since the inception of the campaign in November 2011, the organization has managed to assists many youths register as voters and the belief now is that the 1 million target will be surpassed.

The organization provides the Voter's Clubs with logistical support and information on the registration process. Many analysts have hailed the campaign saying the positive involvement of young people in elections will lead to a more democratic Zimbabwe and a reduction in political violence, something that had become a preserve for the youths who would not be registered to vote. It is also envisaged that the positive involvement of young people in elections will lead to an election that cannot be disputed as young people are constitute more than half the population and are known to vote for democracy.

Some Registrar General officials are also derailing the registration process by requesting absurd proof of residence as has been the case in Harare's Market Square offices where youths are being requested to bring in the proof in the form of bank statements, account statements or hospital bills in their names, proof which is very difficult to produce considering many youths are unemployed. The Youth Forum totally condemns such actions aimed at hindering and reversing the progress registered so far by the Youth Forum and other progressive groups.

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