Mozambicans in Zim prepare to vote

Local News
THE Mozambican government has started registering their nationals in Zimbabwe ahead of the country’s October national elections.

THE Mozambican government has started registering their nationals in Zimbabwe ahead of the country’s October national elections, a senior Mozambican official has said.

BY OBEY MANAYITI

Mozambique will hold Presidential and legislative general elections on October 15 this year.

Those targeted are Mozambicans who are currently in Zimbabwe and others who have local identity cards identifying them as aliens.

A month-long voter registration process in Manicaland province and parts of Masvingo ended last week with more than 4 000 successfully registering to vote.

Mutare has 1 021, Burma Valley (917), Rusape (1 210) and Masvingo has 1 095 voters. According to the Consular General Antonio Fortuna, the registration went on well in Manicaland and Masvingo.

Fortuna wrote to the government of Zimbabwe last month seeking permission to carry out the registration exercise in the country.

“We hold elections every five years which include the Presidential and national parliament,” said Fortuna last week.

“The elections will be held in the whole country and also in the diaspora. We have 250 legislative posts and out of that number two will be from diaspora, meaning one from Africa and another one from Europe and the rest of the world.”

He added: “Therefore our citizens living in Zimbabwe and people of Mozambican origin whose Zimbabwean identity cards bearing the alien mark will be eligible to vote for the Presidential and national legislative positions.”

He said they had managed to register people in Mutare, Burma Valley, Rusape and Masvingo this year.

“We hope to expand the registration exercise next time so that we cover different areas,” he said.

Fortuna said they would be expecting to cover areas such as Chiredzi, Chipinge and Chimanimani in the elections because of the huge number of people from Mozambique in those areas.

Manicaland provincial administrator, Fungai Mbetsa has also written to district heads informing them of the programme.