GOVERNMENT should immediately release funds to ensure that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) starts preparatory work ahead of elections to be held later this year, the Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network (Zesn) has said.
Report by Senior Reporter
Zesn is a coalition of 31 non-governmental organisations formed to co-ordinate activities pertaining to elections.
In a statement yesterday, Zesn said it was crucial for government to prioritise election funding amid reports that the United Nations had backed off from financing the poll.
“We call upon the government of Zimbabwe to release adequate funds for the polls forthwith in order for Zec to start all the necessary preparatory work including a comprehensive voter education exercise and other logistics for the elections,” Zesn said.
On Monday, Finance minister Tendai Biti disclosed that government did not have funds for elections despite President Robert Mugabe’s push to have them held by end of next month.
“There is no poll funding at the moment,” Biti said. “When Zec says it is ready, my understanding of that statement is they are ready to execute a constitutional mandate if they are asked to hold elections on a particular date.”
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The civil society organisation (CSO) also urged the electoral body to release an election calendar to guide stakeholders.
“We call upon Zec to immediately release the election calendar to enable all stakeholders to plan within the election calendar. We urge Zec to organise a credible election consistent with the laws of Zimbabwe and in accordance with regional and international principles and guidelines governing the conduct of elections,” Zesn added.
“We further urge Zec to demonstrate high levels of professionalism, integrity and competence and to demand its independence from political interference.”
Zesn also urged Zec to be time-conscious in accrediting election observers in order to have credible polls.
“The timing on accreditation and deployment of observers and the creation of a conducive electoral environment is necessary for the holding of credible elections. Further, we demand that adequate time and attention be dedicated to effectively complete the voter registration exercise which is now overlapping with election preparations,” the CSO said.
Zec vice-chairperson Joyce Kazembe said on Monday they could only accredit CSOs that actually applied for accreditation to observe and monitor the election.
“So far we have only had applications from as far as the Sadc region. Those who want to observe can also bring applications. We are waiting for the applications,” Kazembe said.
