Vusumuzi DubeRutendo Nyeve,Sunday News Reporter
THE High Court in Bulawayo has struck off the roll an application by 10 Citizens for Coalition Change (CCC) candidates who wanted the court to review a decision by the Nomination Court for rejecting their nomination papers which they sought to submit after the stipulated deadline.
The candidates who were supposed to be on the provincial council party list in Bulawayo filed the urgent court application late last month accusing the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of depriving them the opportunity to submit their nomination papers.
Handing the judgement, Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Bongani Ndlovu said the CCC’s review application should have been filed with the Electoral Court in terms of the Electoral Act and was therefore not properly before the High Court.
“The Electoral Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear appeals, applications and petitions in terms of this Act; and to review any decision of the Commission or any other person made or purporting to have been made under this Act. I uphold the point in limine taken that this application is not properly before me and deserves to be struck off the roll. It is hereby ordered that the application be and is hereby struck off the roll. There is no order as to costs,” reads the judgement.
The 10 CCC members who include Aquilina Kayidza Pamberi, Tinashe Kambarami, Memory Ndlovu, Promise Dalubuhle Mkwananzi, Caroline Mapako, Garikayi Mugova, Kwanele Bango, Brian Gumbo, Gladys Mathe and Tawanda Ruzive were seeking the Bulawayo High Court to order ZEC to enable them to submit their names.
The failure to submit their papers on time means Zanu-PF provincial council candidates were elected unopposed. According to the applicant’s lawyers, Ncube Attorneys, ZEC Bulawayo Provincial Elections Officer, Mr Innocent Ncube was cited as the first respondent, as he was the presiding officer at the Nomination Court, while ZEC was the second respondent.
The other respondents cited were the Zanu-PF candidates who were duly elected: Cdes Manala Motsi, Eddie Dube, Kundai Nyika, Golden Ndlovu, Mnothisi Nsingo, Moleen Dube and Mlungisi Moyo, who were third to 10th respondents respectively.
In their application, CCC members argued that ZEC unlawfully refused to give them a chance to submit their nomination papers for the Bulawayo Provincial Council after 4pm, claiming they were all present and prepared to do so at the Nomination Court.
The CCC members also said ZEC’s denial of their request to submit fresh nomination papers was unjustifiable and further stated that Mr Ncube (PEO) violated Section 46(7) of the Electoral Act. Section 46(7) of the Electoral Act, provides that if a candidate or his agent is present in the Nomination Court and ready to submit a nomination paper in respect of the candidate, at 4pm, the nomination officer is obliged to give him an opportunity to do so.
The CCC candidates also wanted the declaration of the Zanu-PF candidates as duly elected members of the Bulawayo Provincial Council to be set aside. They claimed they attended the Nomination Court early in the morning and that the process of submission of the nomination papers was “unfortunately extremely slow” as it involved a lot of people intending to do so for different elective public offices.
The Government will this year operationalise provincial councils as mandated by the constitution and tenets of devolution. @nyeve14
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