In an interview with NewsDay, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) Mashonaland West elections officer Austin Ndlovu confirmed they have redesigned the structure of the polling booth so that voters cast their vote in the full glare of election officials.
Ndlovu said it is meant to discourage voters from taking pictures while in the polling booth. In previous elections, the voting booth faced the wall, with the voter able to vote without anyone closely watching. Said Ndlovu:
There is a shift to the traditional set-up, where the voting booth faces the wall. This time around, the booth will be in front of election officials at a distance that they will not see how the voter is voting. This was done to avoid unscrupulous people who are in the habit of abusing social media by posting how they would have voted.
Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) chairperson Andrew Makoni criticised the decision saying it defeats the whole purpose of upholding the secrecy of the ballot. Election Resource Centre director Tawanda Chimhini said Zec as the greatest threat to a free, fair and credible election.
More: NewsDay
That is not fair, people in the rural areas will be scared to vote against zanu fp since vachigara vachiudzwa kuti we will be watching you. this is another zanu pf way to scare vanhu vekumamisha izvi