ZIMBABWE will use traditional wooden ballot boxes in parliamentary elections on June 24-25 because they are still credible and readily available, Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede said on Saturday. He said the use of transparent ballot boxes used in other countries to guard against fraud would be a burden to taxpayers. “Our wooden ballot box is quite credible and there is nothing wrong with it,” he said. “We don’t want to spend money unnecessarily … boxes do not bring change to the election results. Mudede said he had asked some international election observers here what changes the use of transparent boxes had brought to other elections. In Zimbabwe, the wooden ballot boxes are opened to check if they are empty before voting starts. This is done in the presence of representatives of various political parties. After voting ends on a particular day, the box is sealed and party representatives guard the boxes overnight. The following day, the boxes are opened in the presence of all parties.
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