Mayor wins right to contest

Senior Reporter
SUSPENDED Gwanda Mayor, Mr Lionel De Necker won a last-minute High Court Chamber application on Friday to compel the nomination court to accept his papers. Mr De Necker was suspended from his position by Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Dr Ignatius Chombo for allegedly disobeying a ministerial order to appoint a chamber secretary in the town.
According the Electoral Act Cap 2:01, the suspension rendered him ineligible to run for public office.

Mr De Necker, through his lawyer, Mr Matshobana Ncube of Phulu and Ncube Legal Practitioners approached the High Court arguing the Electoral Act provision contravened a section of the constitution.

The chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Justice Rita Makarau was named as the first respondent in the application.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was cited as the second, Dr Chombo the third and the Attorney General as the fourth respondent.

“It has been brought to my attention that there is a problem that is presented by the Electoral Act Chap 2:01 which seeks to disqualify me from participating in the elections. In fact, the particular provision purports to bar me from filing my papers with the Nomination Court,” part of Mr De Necker’s founding affidavit reads.

The court was told that Section 103 G (2) (h) (iii) of the Act, his suspension by Dr Chombo was enough grounds to bar him from standing as a council candidate.

Mr Ncube argued that the section was unlawful and inconsistent with the new constitution that guaranteed a number of rights in the Bill of Rights.
“The Constitution in Section 70 (1) reinstates the time honoured principle of the presumption of innocence before one is found guilty by a competent court of law or tribunal established in terms of law. It states clearly that a person charged with an offence is presumed innocent until proven guilty,” he argued.

Mr Ncube said the section of the Electoral Act could not be lawful as it contravened Section 2(1) of the Constitution which states that the Constitution is the supreme law that overrides any Act or law in the country.

He further argued that the Electoral Act provision gave Dr Chombo carte blanche power to dismiss his competitors from a competition by merely suspending them from council.

Mr Ncube said the Act sought to deprive his client of the constitutional right guaranteed for every citizen to contest public office.
“This right is guaranteed in Section 67 and the Act cannot in any way override the constitution,” said Mr Ncube.

High Court Judge, Justice Maphios Cheda granted interim relief barring the first and second respondent from precluding Mr De Necker from filing his papers in the Nomination Court on Friday.

He went on to file them and will be contesting in Ward 10 against Cde Albert Ndlovu of Zanu-PF and Ms Catherine Siziba of the MDC-T.