Regional bloc to help fund Zimbabwe elections: Mugabe

HARARE. Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe on Monday said the regional bloc Southern African Development Community (SADC) will help the cash-strapped government hold credible elections later this year.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Zimbabweu2019s President Robert Mugabe. Net photo.

HARARE. Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe on Monday said the regional bloc Southern African Development Community (SADC) will help the cash-strapped government hold credible elections later this year.Mugabe, who returned to Zimbabwe after attending the African Union jubilee celebrations in Ethiopia, said that the SADC will soon hold a special summit on Zimbabwe "to explore ways of mobilizing financial resources to fund elections,” local media reported.The Zimbabwean government earlier revealed that it needs more than 100 million U.S. dollars for the elections, in which the 89- year-old Mugabe is to compete against Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai for the country’s top post.The two long-time political rivals were forced into a coalition government after the disputed 2008 polls.The date for the upcoming harmonized elections, which combine presidential, parliamentary, and local polls, have not yet been announced but are widely expected to take place between late June and September.