The Roman Catholic Church, one of the largest Christian denominations in the country, has called on Zimbabweans to register to vote and ensure that they vote in the 2023 general elections.
In an interview with CITE, Archdiocese of Bulawayo Archbishop Alex Thomas said his church is committed to ensuring that citizens exercise their right to vote. He said:
It is the duty of every citizen in the country to exercise his or her freedom to choose their civic leaders during the time of elections. This requires an adult person to be registered as a voter.
There has been a lot of apathy among many people to register for voting. I encourage every eligible voter to register and exercise their duties responsibly.
As a church, we are very proactive. I encourage priests to remind congregants of the importance of voting when they hold masses.
The church has at least six parishes that are used as registration centres by the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC).
This shows the commitment that we have as a church to ensure that citizens exercise their rights.
Why registering to vote matters
- Bulawayo Metropolitan Province is among the provinces with low numbers of registered voters.
- The province will lose some constituencies during the delimitation process which is set to take place next year if the number of registered voters does not increase significantly.