• • • the Act does not set a limit for donations lawfully received by political parties from private sources; The Minister of Justice has the mandate to publish a notice in the government gazette specifying the total amount of moneys appropriated for all political parties and the amount that shall be paid to each individual political party, and to pay the political parties; Political parties wishing to receive funding shall apply to the Minister of Justice for funding but not for registration. 4.2. The Role of Electoral Commissions The general role of electoral commissions (the trend now is to establish independent electoral commissions) is to prepare for, conduct and supervise national and/or local government elections, and referendums and to ensure that those elections and referendums are conducted efficiently and fairly. For instance, the functions of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission are, inter alia, to: • prepare for, conduct and supervise Presidential and Parliamentary elections, local government elections, and referendums. It shall ensure that those elections and referendums are conducted ‘efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law’; • supervise the registration of voters; • compile voters’ rolls and registers and to ensure their proper custody and maintenance; • conduct voter education; and • accredit observers of elections and referendums47. Electoral commissions may be charged with further responsibilities related to the conduct of elections. Thus in some countries electoral commissions may also be charged with the responsibility of administering and disbursing public funding to political parties. In the SADC, for instance, a number of countries distribute public funding to political parties through electoral commissions. In Angola and Mozambique, public funding is allocated or dispensed by their National Electoral Commissions. In Lesotho, the funds are allocated by the Independent Electoral Commission while in South Africa public funding is dispensed by the Chief Electoral Officer48. The approach in Zimbabwe is rather different. We have noted above that the Minister of Justice has the power to publish a notice in the government gazette, acting in consultation with the Minister of Finance, specifying the total amount of moneys appropriated for all political parties for that year and the amount that shall be paid to each individual political party. Political parties 47 48 Section 100C of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. ‘Funding of Political Parties’, http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/comparties.htm, 24/09/09. 18