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Freeman Razemba–Senior Reporter
CCC vice president Tendai Biti and other opposition party members who have previously been convicted and fined for committing various offences, no matter how trivial, have no moral grounds to contest in the forthcoming harmonised elections, political analysts contend.
They said regardless of the question of eligibility, a person who wilfully broke the law, even if less serious, was not fit and should not stand for public office.
Voters were also not supposed to trust such individuals as they were likely to commit more serious offences involving abuse of office once voted in.
In 2019, Biti was fined US$200 for unlawfully announcing fake 2018 harmonised election results.
He also has several other cases pending before the courts.
Early this month, CCC spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere was fined US$500 or equivalent in local currency after she was found guilty of publishing falsehoods.
Fadzayi Mahere
In an interview, political analysts said all those who were once convicted should respect the electorate by not attempting to participate.
Political analyst Mr Gabriel Chaibva said he had not familiarised himself with the Mahere judgment, but knew without doubt that Biti was convicted and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment which was suspended for five years and that it remains as a conviction although he appealed and lost the appeal.
“As for Tendai Biti, it is quite clear that in terms of Section 129 subsection 1 (i) which talks about if a member is convicted, it’s quite clear that Biti by previous conviction as a result of the 2018 electoral malpractice, no longer can qualify to be a Member of Parliament because he was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, but suspended for five years and what that means is that it’s a conviction which obviously disqualifies him in terms of provisions of Section 129 (1) (i),” he said.
“What this means is that he can’t be eligible for elections as a member of parliament, even in the next election and this is not as a result of the operations of the current Electoral Amendment Bill, but it’s because of the operations of the provisions of the Constitution. The current Electoral Amendment Bill is simply amplifying provisions which are provided for in Section 129 (1) (i) about conviction.
“Basically, it says that if you are convicted of an offence which involves breach of trust, which involves dishonesty or physical violence as an essential element then you cannot be eligible for election as a Member of Parliament and the Electoral Amendment Bill is simply amplifying that.”
Another political analyst, Mr Gibson Nyikadzino, said those who had been convicted or were to be convicted, should be reminded that the Act of Parliament was a bi-partisan piece of legislation with contributions from all legislators across the board.
“The amendment to the Electoral Act on the view that those convicted on issues related to election or political violence is a good deterrent to would be perpetrators of political violence,” he said. “However, the amendment should not be used arbitrarily to target any political contestant outside the framework of political or election related violence.
“It should be noted that there are people who in the past have committed the offences, the law should be allowed to take its course. Those who have been convicted or are to be convicted, should also be reminded that the law as an act of parliament is a bi-partisan piece of legislation with contributions from all legislators across the board. So no one should think of being a target when the law is implemented collectively.”
Another analyst, Mr Rutendo Matinyarare, said anyone who was convicted should not participate in the political system as they were tainted.
“If you are convicted, like Fadzayi, she has been convicted for lying, trying to put the nation into disrepute and Tendai Biti also, but if you are convicted you shouldn’t participate in our political system,” he said.
“And so the Amendment Bill is a great thing, we need it, we need them to put discipline, we need to put the national interest ahead and to punish crimes against the nation and treason.
“I think our country has been very relaxed and very lenient on crimes against the nation and treason. It’s about time that we take crimes like treason and crimes against the nation, putting the country into disrepute and decampaigning the country as very serious crimes .”
that people must be punished for and people like that should never be rewarded by being put into politics after utilising dirty technics against the nation in order to win their seats.”
Mr Matinyarare said people that had been advocating for illegal sanctions against the country should also be punished and not allowed to participate in any elections.
“I have been one of the people that have been actually advocates for the fact that anybody that perpetuates a crime against Zimbabwe, convicted or not, such a person should not be allowed to participate in elections,” he said.
“So, for instance, we have been saying that those people that have been calling for illegal sanctions upon the country to persecute innocent people, civilians, women and children and the most vulnerable people in country, to force those people to vote for them, such people must not be allowed to participate in the ballot.
“Because clearly they do not have the interests of Zimbabweans, they do not have the national interest at heart.”
In 2021, Biti, who was by then the MDC Alliance vice president had his appeal against conviction and sentence imposed on him for unlawfully announcing the 2018 harmonised election results struck off the roll after the High Court found it was fatally defective and incurable at law.
Biti was sentenced to seven days in prison with the option of a US$200 fine on the first count, while he escaped jail with a wholly suspended sentence of six months’ imprisonment on the other count.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court, Biti then approached the High Court on appeal against both conviction and sentence.
But two judges of the High Court, Justice Felistus Chatukuta and Justice Pisirayi Kwenda, sitting as an appeal court, found the grounds of appeal unreasonably long and puzzling for the court to follow.
Justice Chatukuta, now a Supreme Court judge, wrote the judgment in which Biti’s appeal was struck off the roll.
She said Biti’s grounds of appeal were twisty and agonising to comprehend.
Biti was convicted on two counts of illegally announcing the results of the July 2018 elections and declaring MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa the winner, yet the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s properly done tally showed President Mnangagwa was the winner.
These developments come after the Electoral Amendment Bill currently before Parliament will be given priority so that it is passed on time as it has a bearing on the forthcoming harmonised elections.
While Parliament has nine other Bills that are up for consideration, the Electoral Amendment Bill has to be concluded ahead of elections scheduled for between July and August.
The Bill needs to be finalised as it will operationalise the latest constitutional amendments for the election of 10 youth members of the National Assembly, one from each province, as well as the continued election of 60 women, six from each province, to the National Assembly under a party-list system.
The Bill will extend the new constitutional provisions for the election of women on a party-list system to provincial councils and local authorities, and will prevent people from being nominated for election if they have been convicted of certain offences.
It also sets a time-limit for the withdrawal of constituency candidates.
On Thursday CCC deputy spokesperson Gift Siziba was quoted as saying in their nomination process, they were looking for people with no criminal records.
The opposition party commenced its vetting process on Tuesday under which nominated candidates are expected to provide proof that they have never been convicted of criminal offences among other requirements.
“We are also emphasising on security checks. We don’t want infiltration. We are also strict on criminal records so candidates have to provide proof that they have never been convicted of criminal activities.
“We do not harbour criminals and we focus on the competence of our candidates,” said Mr Siziba.
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