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will be done at polling stationsimmediately after voting closes and the results will be displayed outside the particular polling stations, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission acting chairperson Mrs Joyce Kazembe said yesterday.
ZEC started deploying polling officers to various polling stations countrywide yesterday and also outlined the code of conduct for observers ahead of the referendum.
Briefing journalists, observers and stakeholders in Harare on ZEC’s preparedness to conduct the referendum, Mrs Kazembe said the set up at all the polling stations would be complete by tomorrow.
She said the number of polling stations had been increased from 9 449 to 9 456 after discovering new areas that needed to be covered.
“According to the commission’s referendum schedule, deployment has begun today (yesterday) at various stations countrywide and polling stations are expected to have been set up by March 15 and ready to receive voters on Saturday, the referendum day,” said Mrs Kazembe.
Electoral materials such as indelible ink, ballot papers and ballot boxes have already been dispatched to all provinces under tight security.
Mrs Kazembe said provincial, district and constituency command centres had been established, while the national command centre would be located at the Harare International Conference Centre.
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She said even if counting of ballots would be done at each polling station and results posted outside soon after, the overall outcome would be announced within five days by the chief elections officer.
“After this, the polling station returns will be transmitted to the national command centre via the ward, constituency, district and provincial command centres,” said Mrs Kazembe.
“Once the counting and transmission process has been completed, the chief elections officer will then declare the results of the referendum.”
Mrs Kazembe said they were still waiting for Treasury to release funds to pay outstanding bills, which include polling officers’ allowances.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti this week said Treasury released US$31,5 million to ZEC for the referendum, but Mrs Kazembe said the electoral body had received only US$26 million.
She said ZEC would not slash its budget further as it has many outstanding bills to settle.
“Our account received US$26 million and probably the other money he (Biti) mentioned recently is still on its way but there will be no further cutting down of the budget,” she said.
“We need money to cover the allowances for the 56 736 polling officers countrywide and we have set the allowances at the very minimum rate. You will be surprised to hear that they are getting US$40 per day and this covers their boarding, food and other expenses.”
The number of polling officers, presiding officers and supervisors for the referendum is more than 70 000.
Observers, Mrs Kazembe said, were expected to carry out their observation duties “diligently, impartially and professionally”.
She said no one was allowed to capture pictures in the polling stations, while the use of cellphones in the station was prohibited.
Only media personnel are allowed to take pictures, but not those of people marking their ballot papers.
“We don’t allow the use of cellphones because we have heard reports, whether true or false, that people out of fear and intimidation, have been taking photos of their own ballot papers with the purpose of showing how they voted,” said Mrs Kazembe.
“Observers should also not come up with pre-judgements about the process and be familiar with the legal framework within which the referendum will be conducted.”
Mrs Kazembe said only four observers would be allowed at a time in each polling station and the number would be increased during the counting process.
“Referendum regulations have the provisions specifying the maximum number of observers who can be inside a polling station at the same time, that is four observers who may be representing one or different organisations.
“There may be need for a rotation arrangement that will allow as many observers in a polling station as possible. If they think that there have been irregularities during the voting process, they may bring these to the attention of the returning officer or the commission headquarters.”
ZEC commissioner Professor Geoff Feltoe defended the exclusion of ZimRights from observing the referendum, saying officials from the organisation were “facing serious criminal election offences”.
ZimRights officials were arrested on allegations of fraud and forgery relating to election documents.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Tuesday said principals agreed that ZEC must not prohibit local civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations from accreditation on the basis that they were facing investigations.
But Prof Feltoe said the commission had not been advised of that decision.
He said the timeframe between announcement of the referendum and the referendum date did not allow for prisoners incarcerated for less than six months to cast their votes as required by the law.
Mrs Kazembe said the Observer Accreditation Committee accepted applications from embassies of countries that imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Online Reporter