The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has denied journalists and election observers to access statistics at voter registration centres on the basis that they have not been accredited.
The electoral management body did not call for accreditation for those interested in covering the 10-day voter registration blitz which kicked off on Sunday.
A CITE news crew covering the first day of the registration exercise was denied information at various centres across the city.
They were even denied to take pictures and were instructed by the ZEC staff to only observe.
At the Nkulumane Engine Garage, the news team caught up with Sithembiso Khuphe, ZEC District Elections Officer, who explained that without the ZEC accreditation, it would be difficult for journalists to access the information they would be requiring from the registration officers.
She noted that journalists could take pictures from outside the centres and interview citizens participating in the registration process.
“We had a stakeholder meeting a few days ago and the accreditation issue was raised. There were suggestions that accreditation could be done during the course of this week while there were also suggestions that the duration of the process is short. However, we shall engage further and see how best this issue can be resolved so that both parties can do their work productively,” Khuphe said.
Media practitioners have often raised concerns on dual accreditation as they are already accredited by the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) to practice as journalists and are also required by ZEC to accredit to cover elections.
