Human rights activists on Tuesday accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), in which presidential and parliamentary elections are due to be held in August, of disclosing the phone numbers of voters who they said had received “intimidation” messages from the ruling party.
President Mnangagwa was regularly accused of muzzling the opposition. But incapable to resuscitate an economy that has been in crisis for two decades, he is facing growing discontent in the country.
According to local NGO Team Pachedu, voters, some of them newly registered, have received personalized text messages in Shona (the local language), including the name of the constituency to which they belong and signed with the name of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is running for re-election.
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 denounced irregularities in the division of electoral districts last month.