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Lloyd Gumbo, Harare Bureau
Preparations for the 2018 harmonised elections have intensified with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and its development partners inviting companies to bid for the supply of biometric voter registration equipment.
The biometric system will be used in forthcoming elections as a way of enhancing transparency in the electoral process.
A new voters’ roll that captures biometrics will be used for the 2018 harmonised elections.
Only people registered under the biometric voter registration will be eligible to vote in the elections.
In a notice yesterday, ZEC and its partners, the United Nations Development Programme, said the tender comprised biometric voter registration kits including software for the electoral process.
“This tender is within the context of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Capacity Building Project (ZIM-ECO),” reads the notice.
“Please note that this procurement process is being conducted through online tendering system of UNDP and solicitation documents can be downloaded from there. Deadline for submission of bids is 17 January 2017.”
In an interview with our Harare Bureau on the sidelines of a meeting between Zec and several political parties in Harare recently, Zec chairperson Justice Rita Makarau said the commission was already preparing for the 2018 harmonised elections.
She said the commission had already submitted its budget for the elections.
Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa allocated Zec just over $9 million in last week’s budget announcement.
Justice Makarau said they expected voter education to start soon while voter registration would commence by April next year when the biometric equipment was in the country.
“We have started with the setting up of sub-committees of this particular meeting that will mirror the activities that happen within Zec, issues like voter education and voter registration so that they have committees of their own that will come and feed information and feed good practices into our processes so that come 2018, we have an election that is above reproach,” said Justice Makarau.
The sub-committees comprise political parties representatives, mapping committee, voter education committee, voter registration committee, media and publicity committee, legal committee, liaison committee, political parties funding committee and the accreditation committee.
The parties immediately appointed a subcommittee to spearhead development of the terms of reference for each of the committees.
The new biometric voters’ roll will be polling-station based.
Online Reporter