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This article participates on the following special index pages:
Zimbabwe's Elections 2013 - Index of Articles
Election 2013 Special – Issue 02
Combined
Harare Residents Association (CHRA) & Media Alliance of Zimbabwe
(MAZ)
July 29, 2013
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This is the
second issue of the MAZ/CHRA Right to Information campaign newsletter
that looks at key election issues. MAZ and CHRA believe very strongly
that the credibility of any election lies largely on the ability
of the election commission and various stakeholders to provide critical
information about the electoral process. For the election commission
the choice is limited, they are obligated by law to proactively
provide the public with objective voter information at various stages
of the election in fulfilment of the right to information.
In this issue
our lead story will look at funding for the 2013
General Election. The Right to Information campaign is premised
on the principle that the public has a right to information held
by public bodies; therefore the public has a right to know among
other issues on elections, how public money is spent on elections.
A survey carried out by CHRA and MAZ indicated that only 6% of respondents
know the budgets and expenditures of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
(ZEC), the body that is charged with the mandate to run elections.
Provision of information to the public would ensure that those who
are running elections do so in a transparent and accountable manner
and deliver the best value to the electorate, who are in essence
funding the election.
Important questions
that have been raised ahead of the 31 July election are whether
ZEC has adequate resources to effectively deliver a credible election
as well as what the sources of funding for the election are. The
importance of adequate resourcing of election administration has
been noted by various bodies in different fora. The UN General Assembly
Resolution 66/163 of 2012 on Strengthening the role of the United
Nations in enhancing periodic and genuine elections and the promotion
of democratization for example notes “the importance of adequate
resources for the administration of efficient and transparent elections
at the national and local levels, and recommends that Member States
provide adequate resources for these elections, including to consider
establishing internal funding where feasible.”
The newsletter
will also look at key information issues in the electoral period
and what information voter’s need to know before they cast
their ballots. We also feature a diagrammatic representation of
how individual votes will be tabulated, courtesy of the ZEC website.
Lastly, we would
like to acknowledge the overwhelming response that we received for
the first edition of the Right to Information newsletter that featured
the five Presidential candidates. In addition we would like to thank
you all, our partners and friends for the support to this newsletter.
We hope this second edition will increase knowledge and information
on key election related concerns.
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