Over 6m register to vote in Zimbabwe polls

Zimbabwe's election body on Monday estimated that over six million Zimbabweans have been registered to vote in the general elections set on the last day of this month. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said however, the final figure will be announced when the voters' roll closes on Wednesday. There were about 5.6 million registered voters in the last 2008 elections. Zimbabwe has a population of roughly 13 million. ZEC chairperson Rita Makarau told journalists that the voters' roll would be closed after the 30 days of intensive voter registration. She also said at least 262 postal vote applications from abroad were received. As usual, only Zimbabweans on official duty overseas are allowed to participate in the elections. "Any person who registers after 10 July will not be able to vote. They will remain in the voters' roll but for future purposes, " she said. Zimbabweans will go to polls on July 31 to elect one president, more than 200 law makers and nearly 2,000 local government councilors. Though five candidates were registered to run for the president, incumbent President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai are the serious contenders for the post. Both politicians have just launched their campaigns and unveiled manifestos. Makarau said preparations for the special vote of uniformed forces on July 14 and 15 were progressing well, with ZEC currently processing a total 87,316 application forms for the vote. Uniformed forces will be on duty providing security and other services on polling day hence the requirement for them to vote early. She said ZEC had set up 209 polling stations throughout the country for the special vote, adding unlike in the past when some of the polling stations were located in police camps and barracks, this time the stations were in civilian places like schools and rural district council offices.