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mainly civil servants as polling officers for harmonised elections due by July 31 and has since been cleared by the Public Service Commission to do so. ZEC chairperson Justice Rita Makarau said yesterday that they would also recruit polling officers from the Health Services Board, parastatals and local authorities.
“The commission has already been granted blanket authority by Public Service Commission to recruit electoral staff for the 2013 harmonised elections,” Justice Makarau said.
“The commission will commence recruiting polling officers once a proclamation for the date of the elections is made by His Excellency, the President.”
Speaking before a joint sitting of the House of Assembly portfolio committee on Defence and Home Affairs and the Senate’s thematic committee on Peace and Security yesterday, Justice Makarau said the prevailing environment was conducive for free and fair elections.
She was giving an update on ZEC’s state of preparedness ahead of the elections.
“As ZEC, our opinion is that yes, such an environment (to conduct free and fair elections) exists and can be further enhanced as we approach the elections,” she said.
“Should any stakeholder, however, think otherwise, we are eager to engage them and receive their recommendation on how further the environment can be made better, without favouring any political players.”
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Justice Makarau said ZEC was ready to carry out its constitutional mandate.
“The budget that we sent to the ministry (of Finance) and the amounts that were released from that budget are in the public domain,” she said. “We did send a budget of about US$150 million and to date we have received US$25 million.”
Justice Makarau said they had made an inventory of what is required to successfully conduct the polls.
“Immediately after proclamation, we will activate the national logistics teams countrywide who will look into issues such as the citing of polling stations, provision of power and water where necessary and the provision of transport within the provinces,” she said.
Responding to questions by Mr Paul Madzore (chairman of the Defence and Home Affairs Committee) on whether or not the ongoing voter registration and inspection exercise did not contravene the Constitution, Justice Makarau said their activities were above board.
“When it came to deploying registration teams, the budget that was required to deploy registration teams per each ward was exceeding the amount that Treasury was willing to give us and so a compromise was struck where four teams were deployed per each district without discriminating provinces,” she said.
Turning to Musikavanhu legislator Mr Prosper Mutseyami’s concerns that some people employed by ZEC to carry out voter education were partisan, Justice Makarau urged people to bring any specific information on that issue.
ZEC yesterday released the criteria for local civic organisations that intend to participate in voter education.
The criteria is outlined in terms of Section 40 B (3) of the Electoral Act, which empowers ZEC to permit any persons to assist it in providing voter education.
The organisations should be registered as Private Voluntary Organisations in terms of the Private Voluntary Organisations Act [Chapter 17:05} or is established under a Notarial Deed of Trust that is registered in the Deeds Office in terms of the Deeds Registries Act [Chapter 20:05].
ZEC chief elections officer Mr Lovemore Sekeramayi said in a statement that where the local organisation comprises as its members a number of different local organisations, the network should not apply for permission to assist with voter education in its name.
Each individual member organisation may apply.
The approved organisations would use material supplied by ZEC or they produced, but is approved by ZEC.
They must have adequate funds to carry out voter education and those which use foreign funding must channel it through ZEC.
Organisations which are or whose members of executive or management have been convicted of any electoral offence or of an offence for which they are sentenced to a term of imprisonment without the option of a fine would be disqualified.
Online Reporter