Citizens Coalition For Change (CCC) Youth Assembly National spokesperson Stephen Sarkozy Chuma has encouraged youths to register to vote and turn out to vote despite the current political climate.
Zimbabwe has held contested elections since the first republic. Opposition political parties have accused the ruling party ZanuPF of rigging elections.
The perennial vote rigging accusations are among the reasons more youths are reluctant to vote and to exercise their constitutional right.
In an interview with Open Parly ZW, CCC Youth Spokesperson said, “The more young people vote, the more chances of winning.
“Politics is a game of numbers and obviously if more young people and citizens in general go and register to vote, what that means is that we have a good chance of winning the general elections.
Chuma acknowledged the prevailing circumstances that discouraged youths to register to vote but insisted that voting is the solution to current problems.
“We know that system is very bad, but we can not say because the system is bad, we stop encouraging people to register to vote.
“People must register to vote to remove that bad system which has caused untold suffering to almost every Zimbabwean,” he added.
Furthermore, Chuma highlighted the erratic supply of water, transport woes, and paltry salaries earned by civil servants as reasons youths should register to vote for change.
Chuma called upon Zimbabwean citizens to unite and encourage family and friends to register to vote and to vote for change in 2023.
Asked to explain how the party intended to protect votes in 2023 Chuma said every voter would demand their vote to be respected.
“Every citizen has a right to vote and when you vote you feel ownership of your vote.
“Obviously, it is easier for someone who registered to vote to demand fairness after voting than it is for someone who did not vote at all because the latter will have nothing to fight for, ” Chuma said.
Youths in neigbouring Zambia defended the vote by remaining within the vicinity of the polling station after casting their vote, in the August 2021 elections.
In a Long Term Observer Report for September 2022 released by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), voter registration remained low.
