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Harare Burareu
THE Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe yesterday deferred indefinitely hearing the case in which Government is seeking an extension of the harmonised elections date it had set for 31 July. Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku requested lawyers representing the parties in the five separate applications that had been set for hearing yesterday to consolidate them into a single case and agree on the time line for hearing.
He will today meet the lawyers in chambers to discuss the way forward and possibly to hear the case on Friday, the same day the Nomination Court will sit to accept names of candidates contesting in the elections.
Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa had approached the court for an extension of the poll date beyond 31 July on behalf of the Government following the Sadc Summit held in Maputo last week, which tasked him to seek an extension of the election date, to accommodate any agreed reforms.
This was after the MDC formations who were not comfortable with the election date and the court ruling, lobbied Sadc to intervene.
However, the court felt that since MDC-T leader Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC counterpart Prof Welshman Ncube brought counter-applications raising certain issues of revolving on the extension of the poll date, it was prudent to consolidate the cases together with two others.
The other cases amalgamated into Minister Chinamasa’s case is that of Mr Nixon Nyikadzino and the MDC-T’s Strategic Electoral Litigation, involving a Bulawayo woman Ms Maria Phiri, who are both seeking an extension of the election date arguing that the time line for the elections was short and likely to violate their voting rights.
Earlier Minister Chinamasa’s lawyer Advocate Fred Gijima had opposed to have Mr Tsvangirai and Prof Ncube’s counter-applications to be heard together with his client’s application.
He argued that he had not perused the applications that were filed out of time and that he needed time to file his opposing papers.
“I have problems with both counter-applications because they do not deal with issues being raised in the present case,” said Adv Gijima adding that he also needed to seek instructions from his client on both matters.
The court agreed with Adv Gijima that he should be afforded sufficient time as well as other respondents cited in the case to respond to the counter-applications.
Chief Justice Chidyausiku said consolidating the cases would assist the court to dispose of the matters once and for all.
“It’s an issue of the best way forward to deal with the cases. We have a busy schedule and the earliest is Friday if parties agree,” said Chief Justice Chidyausiku.
The court also noted that President Mugabe, who issued a proclamation prescribing the dates for elections and realigned the electoral laws using Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act also needed to respond to both counter- applications and could not be ambushed.
The Zaka voter Mr Jealousy Mawarire, who obtained a court order compelling President Mugabe to proclaim date for the harmonised elections, is opposing Minister Chinamasa’s application for extension saying it should be dismissed with costs.
He argues that President Mugabe’s proclamation of the date for the elections puts lid on the Order of the court and that the President had fully complied with the court ruling.
“This …court is not a theatre for drama of political players who are willing to hold the nation to ransom as they continue to rule us beyond their constitutionally mandated electoral terms,” says Mr Mawarire.
“I therefore have no doubt that most of our law-abiding citizens of our constitutional democracy desire situation where our courts, particularly this court as the apex court, apply the law without fear or favour in accordance with the Constitution without any regard to anybody’s political expediency.”
Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court granted an application by businessman Mr Mutumwa Mawere seeking an order compelling the Registrar–General Mr Tobaiwa Mudede to give him identity documents and a Zimbabwean passport to enable him to vote in the harmonised elections.
The RG’s lawyers conceded that in terms of the new Constitution of Zimbabwe there was no reason to deny Mr Mawere the relief he sought.
It was also a bad day for the Zimbabwe Development Party’s Mr Kisinoti Mkwazhe, who required $1,5 million to fund his party, after he lost his case.
The court dismissed Mr Mkwazhe’s application without giving reasons but they will be made available in due course. Mr Mkwazhe had argued that his party, which was formed in February 2008, was denied funding on the basis that it did not garner the five percent of the House of Assembly seats as provided for by the Political Parties Finance Act.
He said the main political parties were deliberately not willing to have Parliament change the law because they wanted to protect their interests.
This he said violated his party’s right to participate in the elections and it gives bigger political parties an unfair advantage over smaller ones.
The court also heard the case of another Zimbabwean based in South Africa, Mr Tavengwa Bukaibenyu, seeking an order allowing all Zimbabweans in the Diaspora to vote in the election the same way some diplomats and Government officials based in foreign countries do and reserved judgment to a later date.
Mr Bukaibenyu is seeking to nullify Section 23 and 71 of the Electoral Act, saying it was unconstitutional. Through his lawyer Adv David Ochieng, Mr Bukaibenyu, argued that under the law only Zimbabweans resident in the country can vote while barring those in the Diaspora.
Online Reporter