ZEC face financial challenges

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is reportedly facing serious financial challenges which has seen its struggling to accomplish its mandate of conducting voter registration, education and elections.

According parliamentary Hansard the the Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs  the Commission, which recently received no budgetary allocation for by-elections, nor voter registration for this financial year, but all the same, requested a budgetary allocation of  $2 143 000 to cover voter registration, voter education, the conduct of the by-elections and the requirements of the police.

"They were however allocated $1 473 000 for the Chirumanzu-Zibagwe and Mt. Darwin West Constituencies' by-elections. Notwithstanding this variance, the Commission did not anticipate shortfalls, as they had been addressed by a downward reduction in the daily allowances for officials. ZEC expressed hope that the money was not taken from the allocation of activities it had bid for and been allocated for the 2015 financial year. ZEC still expected to receive disbursements from the previous year's allocations, including outstanding dues to staff," rerads the Hansard.  

"The ZEC had conducted voter education in the two constituencies between 21st and 27th January 2015 for the pre-nomination phase, and on the 10th of February, 2015 for the voter registration exercise. Some civic society organisations had participated in the voter education exercise."

ZEC had also conducted a political parties briefing for the by-elections at which the media was invited by ZEC.

"The ZEC transport fleet needed replacement and had become expensive to maintain owing to age and mileage covered. The Commission had been embargoed by CMED (Pvt) Limited, its traditional supplier of vehicles over an unpaid debt of $3 million. In any event, the CMED fleet was in a deplorable state. Transport was therefore a major problem," reads the Hansard. "The Commission faced challenges with respect to the state of the electoral law, which has not been aligned with the Constitution. Most of its actions were subject to litigation. Parliament needs to urgently attend to this matter."

"According to the Chairperson, the Commission was well prepared for the then forthcoming by-elections. The two problems that it faced, visit he invidious state of the law and the transport due, were beyond its control."