The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) needs $274 million
to successfully conduct the 2018 harmonised elections.ZEC chairperson Justice
Rita Makarau revealed this yesterday in a document she presented to the
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Gender and Community Development.
The electoral body appeared before the committee to brief
it on their preparedness to hold next year’s elections, legal issues to ensure
political parties adhere to constitutional provisions on gender equality and
measures to protect women and children against political violence.
“The responsibility of the funding for the whole electoral
process lies with the Government of Zimbabwe. A consolidated budget requirement
has since been submitted to Treasury for funding in the sum of $274 million.
“ZEC is confident that Treasury will avail the funding as
it has funded all the past by-elections and the acquisition of the BVR kits.
“This is the funding that will enable ZEC to procure all
election material necessary and to pay all allowances necessary to ensure not
only a successful vote registration exercise but a free and fair election in
2018,” ZEC said in the statement. Turning to gender equality, Justice Makarau
said they had no authority to meddle in political parties’ internal affairs.
“As an elections management body, we have no legal mandate
to delve into the internal affairs of political parties and tell them how to
structure themselves. We cannot compel parties to filled women candidates. We
cannot dictate who their candidates will be,” she said.
Justice Makarau however, said as ZEC they were working with
various development partners to encourage women participation in politics. The
ZEC chairperson said they would embark of a countrywide voter education
campaign ahead of registration that should be done before the end of the year.
She also said draft voter registration regulations were now
with the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and would be
gazetted in the coming two weeks. Herald
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