Audit Shows More Rural Than Urban Women on Voters' Roll

HARARE —  A gender audit of the voters' roll used in Wednesday's election shows more women in rural areas are registered as voters than in urban communities. Most of those on the list are over 30 years of age.

According to the audit by the Research and Advocacy Unit and the Women’s Trust there were 1.8 million registered women voters in the rural areas above the age 30 compared to 293,000 registered voters in the same age group in the urban communities.

The audit says there was serious under registration of young women voters in urban areas with only 69,190 versus 556, 000 in the over 30 age group in rural areas.

RAU director Kudakwashe Chitsike explained why young women are under represented on the voters.

Report By Irwin Chifera

The audit also revealed there were more than 12, 000 women aged more than 100 years on the voters' roll, most of them in rural areas.

Chitsike said despite accounting for 52 percent of the population, women are beaten by their male colleagues who constitute 94 percent of people on the voters' roll.

In Harare for example, the registration rate for women was 63 percent compared to 83 percent for men. But in Mashonaland Central the rate is 92 percent for women and 90 percent for women.

Chitsike said more should have been done to get more women on the voters’ roll.

Some 109 women candidates participated in the just-ended harmonized elections representing 13 percent of the 853 candidates who sought political office.