HARARE, ZIMBABWE — At meetings across the nation, officials of Zimbabwe's ruling party have warned voters how they will know who casts ballots against longtime President Robert Mugabe in Friday's scheduled runoff election: serial numbers.
The officials tell people that the ballot number will allow the ruling party to identify who has voted for the opposition so that they can be killed later, according to people who attended meetings in three neighborhoods around Harare, the capital.
Ndaziweye, a 60-year-old domestic worker who asked to be identified only by her first name because of safety concerns, said she was forced by a group of youths to go to such a meeting of about 400 people on the outskirts of Harare on her way back from church Sunday.
"Even the ladies, even the Women's League chairwoman, was talking about killing, saying, 'Don't vote for Tsvangirai or the youth will kill you. We have got strong youth and we are not joking. We are serious.' They said, 'This is not America,' " Ndaziweye recounted.
Opposition and human rights activists have also reported forced pungwes, or re-education meetings, across the nation to intimidate people into voting for the ruling ZANU-PF party through such methods as talking about ballot serial numbers. The meetings began a few weeks after the March 29 election, but have only recently been used to issue threats about the telltale runoff ballots.
A ZANU-PF official who was not in accord with the strategy confirmed that the party's war veterans and militias were spreading fear about the serial numbers to intimidate voters. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said there were about 900 militia bases across the country, one in every voting ward.
The atmosphere at Sunday's meeting was loud and frenzied, almost festive, Ndaziweye said, making it even more unsettling. ZANU-PF youths sang and danced furiously. People exchanged the party greeting, touching fists with each other.
"I was shocked because whenever anyone gave a speech, everyone would yell, 'We will kill! We will kill!' The youths were singing horrible songs and shouting."
The short, slight woman with ancient spectacles and frayed shoes said that despite the possible consequences, she would nonetheless vote against Mugabe, if he defies international pressure and pushes ahead with the runoff vote Friday.
