Zimbabwe's Office of the Registrar General says the voter roll for national elections tentatively set to take place next March must be printed before the end of 2007, but other observers say this is not a good idea and may not even be possible.
Chief Accountant Edwell Mutemaringa of the registrar general's office told parliament this week that his office needs Z3.5 trillion dollars (US$3.5 million) to print the voters’ roll though it has so far been budgeted only Z$110 billion (US$110,000) dollars.
Opposition member of parliament Trudy Stevenson, who sits on the house public accounts committee, said the allocation of funds for next year’s elections might be determined Thursday in a pre-budget conference in Bulawayo.
Zimbabwe Election Support Network Chairman Noel Kututwa told reporter Carole Gombakomba of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that as President Robert Mugabe has not yet signed recently passed constitutional amendment legislation, it would be premature for the Registrar General to finalize the voters roll this year.
More reports from VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe...