The youth branches of Zimbabwean political parties and non-governmental organizations have intensified campaigns to encourage young people to register to vote in the oncoming elections, demanding that the registrar general make it easier for youths to register.
Youth organizations encouraging registration include the Youth Initiative for Democracy in Zimbabwe, the Youth Forum, and the Youth Assembly of the Movement for Democratic Change formation headed by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
Promise Mkhwananzi, youth secretary for the Tsvangirai MDC, told Sithandekile Mhlanga that his party has asked the registrar general to make registration more “youth friendly.”
The Youth Forum says its campaign targets one million youths and that it is offering advice on how to make the next round of elections free and fair.
Youth Forum Information Officer Tawanda Mashava told Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye that young Zimbabweans want an election that is free of violence and bloodshed.
More than 200 people died in the country's last national elections in 2008, most of them supporters of Mr. Tsvangirai's then-opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
No elections have been scheduled, but they are most likely to take place in 2012.