BEITBRIDGE Border Post on Wednesday recorded a sharp decline in the volume of both human and vehicular traffic as scores of Zimbabweans braved the chilly weather to cast their votes in the harmonised elections. Zimbabweans constitute the highest number of travellers who use Beitbridge border post daily. The Government declared Wednesday a public holiday to allow people enough time to participate in the just ended harmonised elections.

In an interview yesterday, the assistant regional immigration manager-in-charge of Beitbridge border post, Mr Charles Gwede, said they handled 8 509 travellers on both exit and entry sides, a sharp decline compared to an average of 16 000 passing through daily.

"The number of travellers who passed through Beitbridge border post on Wednesday drastically went down compared to normal days. This could largely be because most people were busy casting their votes in their respective constituencies hence they had to suspend travelling.

"Notably, the border post was relatively quiet even during the days in the run up to the elections. On Wednesday, we recorded 3 700 travellers on the arrival side while on the departure section we handled 4 809 travellers yet on a normal day, we handle an average of 16 000 people on both sides," he said.