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Harare Bureau
Cracks have widened in the MDC-T as it emerged yesterday that the party paid security for costs of the election petitions for only 39 heavyweights that lost to Zanu-PF candidates in the just-ended harmonised elections, abandoning 54 little-known and less powerful petitioners.
At least 95 MDC-T legislators filed their petitions with the Electoral Court seeking to nullify results of the poll in their respective parliamentary constituencies.
MDC-T secretary general Mr Tendai Biti on Friday wrote to the registrar of the Electoral Court informing him of the party’s decision to pay $390 000 for only 39 candidates.
The law requires each petitioner to pay $10 000 to the court within seven days of filing the petition.
The seven-day period expired on Friday and that is when Mr Biti tendered proof of payment to the court in respect of the 39 petitions.
By operation of law, the other 54 cases automatically became invalid for failure to meet the requirements.
Payment was made at once on 21 August at Stanbic Bank and a copy of the deposit slip was attached to Mr Biti’s letter sent to the Electoral Court last week.
Among the lucky petitioners were Mr Lovemore Moyo, Mr Ian Makone, Mr Eric Knight, Mr Piniel Denga, Mr Blessing Chebundo, Mr Pishai Muchauraya, Ms Tracey Mutinhiri and Mr Takanayi Mureyi.
The rest of the abandoned petitions were for the little-known petitioners.
The criteria used in the selection of the 39 petitioners was not clearly explained, a development that has widened the rift among the party members who were not happy with the conduct of the leadership.
Corruption and nepotism are some of the issues being raised by some losing candidates whose petitions were not considered in the payment of the security for costs.
Others indicated that MDC–T decided to choose the cases that they felt belonged to the bigwigs, leaving out what they considered weak cases.
Party insiders yesterday said it was baffling to note that a party whose leader once challenged President Mugabe’s victory citing some irregularities although he later dropped the case, was a clear testimony that it did not have evidence to buttress its case in the first place.
MDC-T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora said the decision to drop other MPs was made due to the limited funds available and that there was no particular criteria used.
“We have only paid what we could afford,” he said. “It does not mean that those petitions that were not paid for were weak cases in any way, but people should appreciate that the fees required were too much and that we could not afford to pay for everyone.”
Asked on the criteria used in the selection of the 39 petitioners, Mr Mwonzora said: “It was simply on the basis of first come first serve. There was no much of criteria used.
“Zimbabwe must be ashamed of the exorbitant fees required at the courts. This is the only country that denies its people justice through prohibitive costs. The $10 000 for each petition was too much.”
The 95 MDC-T petitions were filed on the eve of the expiry of the 14-day period in which challenges should be filed at the Electoral Court and the 39 payments were made yesterday, which was the last day.
In Harare, 89 petitions were filed last Friday, while six were filed in Bulawayo, leaving the total number of petitions at 95.
Section 168 of the Electoral Act makes it mandatory for petitioners to tender security of costs as stipulated by the Electoral Court.
“Not later than seven days after the presentation of the election petition, security of an amount fixed by the registrar of the Electoral Court, being not less than the amount prescribed by the Commission after consultation with the Chief Justice, for the payment of all costs, charges and expenses that may become payable by the petitioner — (a) to pay any person summoned as a witness on his behalf or her behalf and (b) to the respondent shall be given by or on behalf of the petitioner,” reads the Act.
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