Govt re-engages UNDAP for supplementary poll funding

Prime Minister Mr Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday said the principals had instructed Finance Minister Tendai Biti, his Justice and Legal Affairs counterpart Patrick Chinamasa and Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi to write another letter to the UN body expressing objections to the terms it had set.

“The principals appreciate that domestic resources will not be enough and it is necessary to seek external support through UNDP,” he said.
“There was, of course, a concern which we are rectifying. We have tasked them . . . to come up with a letter because the terms of reference that UNDP provided sometimes impeding on the sovereignty of the country and therefore a new terms of reference have to be proposed to UNDP that the focus is to look at the technical assistance that is required to carry out an election.”

He, however, said monitoring of political activities and related issues will not be part of the terms of reference.
“If it is a needs assessment mission to visit the country, they should come, look at our capacity as ZEC, (and) what are the technical requirements to run an election. That would be the focus of that mission.”

The principals spokesperson said the principals were still to reach a consensus on the involvement of international observers.
Government last week announced that observers from countries that imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe would not be allowed into the country.
PM Tsvangirai expressed hope that the principals would reach consensus before the polls.

The principals, he said, had agreed that Justice Rita Makarau would assume the ZEC chairperson position on a substantive basis soon after the referendum when the Parliament’s Standing Rules and Orders Committee processes are concluded.
“The principals agreed that it would be improper to have a temporary chairperson for such a key institution as ZEC and that constitutionally, a substantive chairperson enjoys security of tenure which an acting chairperson does not have.”

He said the ZEC secretariat was capable of conducting credible elections as long as the commission carried its mandate.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai said the principals also agreed that the Observers Accreditation Committee which is responsible for the accreditation of referendum and election observers must be re-configured to be equitable political representation to ensure the political ground is fair and level for all contestants.

He said they agreed that ZEC must not prohibit local civil society organisations and non governmental organisations from accreditation on the basis that they were facing investigations.
Some civic organisation had yesterday petitioned the principals threatening to boycott the referendum.

They said they would “mobilise our members to withdraw from observation of the process”.
ZEC had turned down a request by ZimRights to observe the referendum as the organisation was under investigations.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai, however, undertook to convince the civic organisations from boycotting the referendum.