ZEC still to get enough funding: Makarau The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) says it has not received the full funding it budgeted for to conduct the forthcoming harmonised elections. Briefing the SADC observer mission team in Harare on Friday, ZEC Chairperson Justice Rita Makarau said the electoral body has received only US$38 million from treasury against a budget of US$133 million. Some of the observers asked whether the negative comments regarding the voter registration will not undermine the credibility of the process while others wanted to know if supporters will be allowed to wear party regalia within polling stations. Some wanted to know the time frame for the announcement of presidential results and when the issue of candidates who appealed will be finalised. Justice Makarau highlighted that only six observers are allowed at a polling station at any given time to avoid congestion. She said ZEC has increased the number of polling stations to 9 646 across the country, and the only concern at the moment is the late disbursement of the promised funds. The ZEC chairperson took the observers through the code of conduct for observers and explained amendments that have been effected into the electoral law as well as the new features in the electoral system. ZEC Deputy Chairperson Joyce Kazembe and Commissioners Geoff Feltoe and Bessie Nhandara tackled other issues raised by the observers such as the issue of aliens being allowed to vote, and accreditation of observers which has also been decentralised to all the 10 provinces in the country. Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Republic Police told the observers that the law enforcement authorities are fully prepared for the harmonised elections. Over 9 000 observers are expected to oversee the harmonised elections. 7 000 are local while the African Union, SADC, COMESA, the African Caribbean and Pacific and other regional groupings are expected to send observers for the 31 July harmonised elections. In a related development, the African Union Commission Chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Dhlamini-Zuma has approved an African Union short term observer mission for Zimbabwe’s harmonised elections. The AU short term observer team will complement the work of the nine AU long term observer mission which has been deployed since the 15th of last month. The mission, which comprises 60 observers drawn from African electoral management bodies, civil society organisations, the Pan-African Parliament and the regional economic communities and human rights organisations, will be led by former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo. The team will be supported by nine coordinating and technical teams from Democracy and Electoral Assistance Unit, the Pan-African Parliament and Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa. The mission leader, Mr Obasanjo will meet relevant stakeholders including the President, the Prime Minister, the Chairperson of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, political parties, civil society organisations and security agencies.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 18:47:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015