Chengetai Zvauya
MDC Alliance presidential candidate, Nelson Chamisa, has engaged electoral experts based in South Africa to help the party in analyzing the voters roll, as the country prepares for the first general elections after long-time leader Robert Mugabe.
Business Times has established that the coalition which is challenging incumbent president Emmerson Mnangagwa, is working with three experts – Topper Whitehead, Hendrik O’Neil and Bob Hamill.
Hamill confirmed that he is now based in Harare and is working with a team called the Nelson Chamisa Support Group (NCSG) in Voter’s Roll analysis and fund raising for the party.
“We have contracted Topper Whitehead, now based in South Africa, along with his team to do an analysis and interrogation of the Voters Roll released by ZEC. Topper has been involved in electoral analysis since 2000,” said Hamill.
“He is trusted by Chamisa as an independent source of information,” he added.
“His analysis will add to the body of work which will enable an electoral challenge, if need be. Hendrik, who is also working with us, has election experience and has been involved in all our elections since 2000 (save for 2013),” he said.
Over the past few months, MDC has raised concerns over the voters roll, arguing that it could have been manipulated to favor president Mnangagwa. Zimbabwe will vote on July 30.
