HARARE – The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) has denied receiving any donor funding for training polling agents for the upcoming elections, refuting claims made by the ruling party Zanu PF.
Zanu PF’s finance department alleged that ZESN and the Election Resource Center (ERC) had received a donation of US$10 million to train election agents from all participating political parties. The ruling party argued that accepting such funding would violate the Political Parties (Finance) Act, which prohibits political parties from accepting foreign donations.
In response, ZESN clarified that it is not involved in training political party agents or candidates. The organization stated that its mandate is to promote democratic elections in Zimbabwe through oversight of electoral processes, guided by the country’s constitution, electoral laws, and international principles and guidelines on democratic elections.
ZESN emphasized its independence and non-partisanship, stating that it does not finance, train, support, or endorse any political party or candidate in Zimbabwe.
This statement from ZESN comes in response to allegations made by Zanu PF, highlighting the ongoing tensions and accusations surrounding the upcoming elections in Zimbabwe.
