UNDP commends July 31 Zanzibar referendum

THE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has commended the referendum in Zanzibar planned for July 31, saying it was a positive move towards uniting the Zanzibaris.

The Head of the UN in Tanzania and UNDP Resident Representative, Mr Albéric Kacou, said in a statement issued in Dar es Salaam on Monday that the referendum was a good step towards giving the people of Zanzibar the opportunity to contribute to the format of the future government.

“We will offer our full support to the elected government of Zanzibar “No matter what the July 31st Zanzibar referendum outcome may be,” the statement said.

The UN Representative said high participation in the referendum would lend credibility to the result, adding that the UN through the multi-donor UNDP Elections Support Project, would provide technical assistance to the Zanzibar Election Commission (ZEC).

ZEC is solely responsible for organizing and managing the July 31 Zanzibar referendum. UNDP technical assistance for the referendum includes the purchase of ink, stamps, ballot papers and ballot boxes; software for the speedy and transparent reporting of results.

More funds will be provided for training ZEC poll workers and funds for information material about when and where to vote on referendum day. Most of the funds for the referendum are provided by the Government of Zanzibar.

Mr Kacou said the UNDP logos seen on some voter information material is a signal of funding support only, adding that UNDP was not responsible for the content of voter education material and has no role in referendum organization or management, tasks managed entirely by ZEC.

He further said he was impressed by ZEC’s level of preparedness for the referendum, which it achieved in a very short time after being given the mandate to conduct the referendum only in June.

The UNDP Elections Support Project was mobilised following the need for assessment mission by the UN Department of Political Affairs in 2008, at the request of both the National Electoral Commission and the Zanzibar Electoral Commission.

The project has financial support from Canada, Denmark, the European Commission, Finland, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, UNDP and the United Kingdom and is managed under the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme in Tanzania.

Assistance to the Referendum is part of the wider support to NEC and ZEC under the ESP which focuses on Building capacity for EMBs to enable them plan and manage the electoral process effectively and provide voters’ education to ensure that voters, particularly women and marginalised groups were educated on the registration and voting process.

The support also focuses on political parties enhancement to contribute to ensuring transparency of voter registration, monitoring of the elections events, effective election conflict resolution and capacity building for female candidates.

It also entails support to print, radio and TV media publishers and journalists, to enable them to report transparently and without prejudice on the electoral process, support for the election monitoring bodies to administer Election Observation and assistance to CSOs to observe the elections and lastly to have EMBs and other key stakeholders supported in the promotion of a secure and peaceful environment during the electoral process.

Dailynews