ZEC Says It Used US$188 million From Treasury For Preparation Of August 2023 Elections
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has stated that 71 percent of the initial budget allocation of ZWL860 billion (US$188 million) from the treasury was used for the preparation and holding of the August 2023 elections.
The budget supported various aspects, including the acquisition of electoral material and equipment, vehicles, training, and the welfare of election officials. ZEC also mentioned that a total of 132,958 electoral officers were recruited for the election, and there were no shortages of personnel, ZimLive reported citing a report by ZEC. The commission commended the treasury for releasing the election funding in a timely manner. Said the electoral body:
Treasury allocated the commission ZWL860 billion activities leading to the conduct of the 2023 plebiscite and the actual election.
The commission procured sensitive and non-sensitive election materials and equipment through government funds.
Unaudited expenditure as at 18 September 2023 is ZWL612 billion (71 percent).
Treasury availed the budget in time save for delays experienced in some circumstances which was urgently attended to.
The ministry of finance is commended for timely releases of the budget.
The remaining funds are planned to be used for the upcoming by-elections scheduled for December 9. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) received additional support from the European Union-funded Zim-ECO project, which mainly focused on publicity programs and media monitoring. However, the EU has expressed its intention to suspend its financial support of $5 million to ZEC. This decision was made due to concerns raised by international Electoral Observation Missions regarding the independence and transparency of the commission during the previous elections. ZEC is currently preparing for the December by-elections, and the government has already allocated US$5 million for this purpose.
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