ZESN Report on the 31 July 2013 Harmonised Elections The Act also prohibits foreign funding of Zimbabwean political parties. The Minister of Finance set aside US$5 million for political parties in the 2013 Budget. It is quite evident from the level of campaigning and advertising, that the major parties were well funded outside of this provision. Given the fact that there are no robust measures for the regulation of electoral finances, unless there is voluntary disclosure it would be difficult to trace the source of these funds and apply the Political Parties Finance Act. Use of State Resources The law provides that where state resources are used for election campaigning purposes they must not be used in favour of a particular party over others. If parties are to use state resources, they must not do so for free but should pay the required fee. This applies to the use of government resources, such as public spaces for rallies and meetings, use of telephones and offices in general, and government transport. It also applies to using civil servants’ time to campaign for a particular party or candidate. This also applies to any entity that is government owned, such as the state media, or national airline. The use and abuse of state resources often stems from incumbency, as those in power inevitably combine their official duties with campaigning for their party. In this campaign the abuse of state resources was recorded in a number of areas. Abuse of state resources was recorded in the distribution of food aid to vulnerable communities where recipients had to buy ZANU-PF cards before receiving food. In this case state resources were not only being abused in order to get votes, but also to raise funds for the party through the purchase of party cards. Other state resources abused were civil servants, such as youth officers and soldiers employed by government, some of whom campaigned openly for ZANU-PF. Vote buying for these elections was widely reported by observer teams and the media. For example, when President Mugabe held a star rally at Nzvimbo growth point on 11 July, First Lady Grace Mugabe donated several food items to the community. The next day, 12 July 2013 Elizabeth Macheka, the wife of MDC- T presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, donated goods at Simbala Clinic and Binga Hospital. In Marondera East the MDC-T was allegedly buying votes using sewing machines. Other votebuying strategies observed have also been state hand-outs, such as grain and farming inputs by political contestants. In the Midlands constituency of Mkoba a new party, the United Movement for Democracy Party (UMDP), is said to have bought voters using cash. On 22 July, the Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development ordered all urban and rural councils to write off debts for rates owed by residents. Whilst cautiously welcomed by residents, the move was also seen by some as an attempt by ZANU-PF to curry favour with voters just in time for elections. 54 | P a g e