Herald Reporters
The forthcoming by-elections in 16 constituencies will proceed as scheduled as Treasury has committed to avail funds in due course to enable the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to carry out its mandate.
ZEC chairperson Justice Rita Makarau said while they wanted $6 million for the by-elections in 16 constituencies, Treasury trimmed it to $4 million.
She was responding to allegations by the Election Resource Centre when it appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs recently that Treasury had failed to provide funding for the elections.
ERC director, Mr Tawanda Chimhini, made the allegations when he appeared before the committee.
“We have been promised that Treasury will provide the money before the elections,” said Justice Makarau.
“We have been told that there is something in the pipeline so there is no reason for panic. I am told our guys are actually following up on the money.”
Justice Makarau said the commission would soon be training officers who will preside over the June 12 polls.
President Mugabe proclaimed June 10, 2015, as the date for by-elections in 14 parliamentary seats that fell vacant after MDC-T recalled 21 legislators who joined the newly-formed United Movement for Democratic Change (UMDC) and the other two where Messrs Didymus Mutasa (Headlands) and his nephew, Temba Mliswa (Hurungwe West), who were kicked out by Zanu-PF over a plot to topple the President through unconstitutional means.
Meanwhile, ZEC chairperson said the Commission will meet soon to decide on the request by the MDC-T that they be availed the electronic copy of the voters’ roll used in the 2013 harmonised elections.
“We received the letter and the staff is looking at it. Basically what the MDC-T is saying is because we are giving electronic voters’ roll to the candidates in the by-elections, can we also give them the 2013 voters roll,” she said.
“The Commission will look at the request but there appears to be a missing link there because they are asking us to give them something that we don’t have. In 2013 it was the Registrar General Voters Roll so we have to decide whether to direct them to the RG, but if the Commission says that do it on their behalf then we will do it.”
Before the adoption of the new Constitution the RG’s office was responsible for compiling and keeping of the voters roll but that mandate was transferred to ZEC when the new supreme law came into force.
ZEC has been carrying out voter registration in areas where there are by-elections in keeping with its mandate.