Polling is peaceful, but voters cynical

Zimbabwe: Ted Chamunorwa is annoyed

Zimbabwe: Ted Chamunorwa is annoyed. He has spent more than two hours queueing to vote in Zimbabwe's parliamentary election and has still not cast his ballot.

Suspicious of the delays, the 47-year-old from the Chitungwiza township 20 kilometres outside Harare remembers well the situation three years ago where many voters were disenfranchised because not enough polling booths were available.

But Chamunorwa acknowledges this is "the most peaceful polling day in years". Nonetheless, he is one of just a few people willing to speak openly from among thousands, and even then he remains guarded.

Zimbabwe's last elections were marred by significant bouts of violence and intimidation, and while opposition supporters no longer cower on the fringes of polling booths, there remains a general feeling that this election is peaceful because Robert Mugabe feels it is already won.

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A day before Zimbabweans went to the polls - and as independent observers claimed as many as 800,000 dead voters remained on the electoral roll - Mugabe predicted "an enormous and mountainous victory".

Such optimism, say many Zimbabweans, is based on the fact that Mugabe's ruling party won the election before the likes of Chamunorwa lined up to vote.

Nonetheless, Zimbabweans yesterday came in droves to cast their vote.

"Chitungwiza has many MDC [ Movement for Democratic Change] supporters and Zanu PF [ Zimbabwean African National Union Patriotic Front] supporters, which led to trouble last time," says Chamunorwa. "But this time, as you can see, it is not violent, and there is no one telling us what to do."

Inside the polling station officials sit rigidly as voters move slowly from table to table completing the registration process. Once this is done, they go to one of three polling booths, behind which they make their mark on the ballot paper.

Once the vote is cast the voter returns to view, holds the ballot paper in the air to show officials a mark that signifies it is being cast in the relevant constituency. The ballot paper is then put into one of three ballot boxes.

It's a straightforward process and appears to be free from manipulation. And yet over the past two weeks there have been countless cases of dead Zimbabweans appearing on the electoral role. The MDC fears they will all vote for Mugabe's party.

At another polling station a kilometre away, Gerald Jiri stands happily outside the polling booth. He smiles as he describes the relief of being able to vote without feeling intimidated.

However, he is not yet confident enough in Zimbabwe's new peaceful atmosphere to say which party he has voted for.

"There have been no problems between the people who vote MDC and those who vote for Zanu PF in the last few weeks, but prior to the elections things were not good. Only in the past month has the MDC had access to the media.

"I can't tell you who I voted for because things are still shaky at the moment. But I believe Zanu PF will win the election, though if MDC were able to campaign for more than a month, then they would win," he says, surrounded by an ever-increasing crowd.

A total of 45,000 people are registered to vote in the Chitungwiza township, and officials say there are 29 polling stations in the area to accommodate them.

This time the votes are put in transparent boxes, stopping them being stuffed with false votes. But claims are rife that Zanu PF is telling voters in rural areas that their votes will be seen in the transparent boxes.

The Zimbabwean Electoral Commission says it has erected 8,000 polling booths around the country, double the number in 2002, to ensure that everyone gets the chance to vote.

But while the mood is relatively upbeat among voters, those who have decided not to vote also have a story to tell.

Three years ago Dr Matt Barker queued for eight hours to vote. "It was a thrilling time, and there was such optimism for change. This time Zanu PF has had three years to rig it, and I think they've guaranteed themselves victory. I'm staying at home," he says.