From CNN

Zimbabwe has asked neighboring southern African countries to help fund elections scheduled for the end of the month, the country’s finance minister said Wednesday.

Tendai Biti said he had released about $40 million of the $132 million the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission needs for the July 31 vote, “but we are far away from reaching the target. We do not have the money. We can’t increase taxes.”

Biti is a member of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC).

“I have been in touch with the (Southern African Development Community) secretariat on the issue of trying to raise funds from the region. So it is something we are going to pursue. In fact it is something we have already started pursuing. We spoke to four countries in the region today. I can’t disclose their names and what we discussed.”

Read more at CNN.com.