Over 5 million Zimbabweans register to vote in mid-2018 polls

HARARE, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- About 5.1 million people have registered as of Sunday to vote in elections scheduled for the middle of this year, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said on Monday.

ZEC has said it is targeting to register 5.5 million people, down from 7 million it had initially targeted.

The electoral body is conducting a mop-up biometric voter registration campaign which started on Jan. 10 and ends on Feb. 8 to cater for eligible voters who failed to register last December.

After the end of the mobile registration exercise in February, voter registration will continue at 63 static centers across the country until a few weeks before the election.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said elections will be held by July this year. He has been nominated by the ruling ZANU-PF party as its presidential candidate.

Zimbabwe's voter turnout hovered around 3.5 million in 2008 and 2013 elections.

ZEC is using the biometric voter registration system for the first time and every eligible Zimbabwean must register afresh to participate in the polls. Enditem