ZEC report exposes how broke Govt is compromising quality of elections

In a by-elections report presented in the National Assembly last week by Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) argued that lack of funding was compromising the quality of the electoral process.

Part of the report signed by ZEC chairperson Justice Rita Makarau, reads:

Reducing the number of voter education days compromised the quality of voter education. Reducing personnel affected the swift processing of voters in queues and led to multi-tasking of polling officers, which exposed them to error. The challenges of late release of election funds and underfunding continue to recur during elections in Zimbabwe. These have a negative impact on the handling of election processes, especially in procurement of goods and services, deployment of human resources and implementing the electoral process.

ZEC recommended that voter registration be funded separately from the election budget and said it was hiring vehicles and demanded that it be availed with funds to have its own fleet.

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