JOHANNESBURG
Mozambique’s second general general election scheduled for October this year is expected to cost just over US $42 million, according to local media reports on Wednesday.
The reports quoted Minister of State Administration Alfredo Gamito as saying that the government would provide about US $9 million with the remainder coming from donor nations.
The country’s first general election in 1994, held after years of civil war, was won by President Joaquim Chissano’s Frelimo Party which took 129 seats, against 112 by its wartime rival, Renamo, and nine seats by a smaller opposition party.
During that election, Gamito said the government had only managed to contribute less than 10 percent of the budget. The European Union (EU) has already offered US $23 million. The remaining US $10 million would come from other donors through the UNDP.
Marc De Tollenaere , a UNDP official in Mozambique told IRIN that these donors included Norway, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden. He said it was likely the United States would provide separate funding to assist political parties. Further financial assistance could be provided by the Netherlands and Britain, he added.
The budget for the election was established through studies that were carried out by the government, the EU and the UNDP.
Officials said the most expensive part of the exercise would be the establishment of a new voters roll which could absorb at least 50 percent of the budget. A staff of nearly 10,000 will begin registration of the country’s eight million voters in May.
Under Mozambique law, the government is required to update the voters roll annually.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions