Rights activists charged the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) on Tuesday with exposing the phone numbers of voters who they claimed had received “intimidation” texts from the ruling party ahead of the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for August.
Personalized text messages in Shona (the local language), signed with the name of President Emmerson Mnagwa, who is seeking reelection, have been sent to voters, some of whom have just registered to vote, according to the local NGO Team Pachedu. The texts also include the name of the constituency to which the recipient belongs.
The organisation that AFP contacted emphasised that “this information only appears on the new electoral lists and only the ZEC (electoral commission) is meant to have access to it.”
Additionally, according to Team Pachedu, “new registrants” and opposition supporters “who have never supplied their details” to the ruling Zanu-PF are among the recipients of the messages.
The group has stated that it will file a lawsuit.
The electoral commission denied providing any contact information when questioned by AFP.
“We have not given anything to anyone,” said its vice president, Rodney Simukai Kiwa. “We are shocked to hear that,” he added.
When contacted by AFP, Zanu-PF did not respond.
According to Team Pachedu, the “intimidation tactic” of sending text messages on private numbers had already been used during the last elections in 2018.
The organization had denounced irregularities in the division of electoral districts last month.
President Mnangagwa is regularly accused of muzzling the opposition. But unable to revive an economy that has been in crisis for two decades, he is facing growing discontent.
