‘Government financially prepared for elections’

TREASURY has said resources to enable the country to hold harmonised elections on August 23 are in place and a number of organisations that facilitate the polls such as the security sector will be provided with adequate funding.

Political parties that qualify for funding in terms of the country’s laws will receive their allocations and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) running the elections will receive adequate funding.

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube in an interview in Bulawayo yesterday said Government is more than ready to hold the elections.

“Government is more than ready for the harmonised elections. Financial resources to fund the process have been budgeted for since late last year.

Our 2022 and 2023 budgets had allocations for the elections,” he said.

Minister Mthuli said there are adequate resources to cater for an election run-off in the event it becomes necessary.

“All that has to do with the elections has been addressed. When we say we are well prepared as the Government to hold the elections we mean that all the required resources and logistics are in place,” said Minister Ncube.

The Nomination Court sat on June 21 and ZEC has since published the list of candidates that were duly nominated to contest the elections.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa proclaimed Wednesday, August 23, 2023 as the day that the country will conduct the polls.

“Elections this year will be conducted under the new electoral boundaries which were drawn as a result of the delimitation exercise undertaken by ZEC ahead of the August polls,” said Minister Ncube.

He said last month, ZEC concluded an important exercise which was the voters’ roll inspection and voter registration.