MDC-T in U-turn over mayors

Harare Bureau
THE MDC-T yesterday made a dramatic U-turn and nominated some elected councillors as mayors for Harare and Chitungwiza in line with the dictates of the new Constitution.It could not be established last night if the party had nominated any of the Bulawayo elected councillors to be the mayor.

The latest development unfolded as the MDC-T withdrew its application at the Electoral Court to compel the Ministry of Local Government, Urban and Rural Development to allow non councillors to stand as mayoral candidates after realising that they had approached the wrong court.

The development exposed the MDC-T legal department’s ignorance of the Constitution with MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai having vowed to defy the Constitution by choosing unelected councillors as mayors.

The party has now nominated Ward 2 councillor Mr Phillip Mutoti as Chitungwiza mayor and Ward 9 councillor only identified as Mr Manyenyenye as Harare mayor.

MDC-T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora confirmed the development.

“What has happened is that we are making contingency plans just in case we do not get the relief we want from the courts. If the court says we should not choose non-councillors as mayors we then go to our plan B,” he said.

Mr Mwonzora refused to disclose the names of the elected councillors that were nominated as mayors.
“We are not in a position to disclose names until plan B comes to fruition,” he said.

However, highly placed sources at Harvest House in Harare yesterday said the opposition party summoned all Harare and Chitungwiza councillors and announced the climb-down.

The party lawyers from Mwonzora and Associates had filed the urgent chamber application at the Electoral Court but Justice Lavender Makoni agreed with the Local Government lawyer Mr Joseph Mandizha that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter.

According to Mr Mandizha, the matter had nothing to do with elections and instead it should have been filed at the High Court.
MDC-T lawyers then made a U-turn and quickly withdrew the application.

Recently the Permanent Secretary for Local Government, Urban and Rural Development Mr Killian Mupingo instructed all provincial administrators to only consider candidates who are elected councillors for the mayoral posts.

Mr Mupingo instructed the administrators to ensure that those elected as mayors and chairpersons of councils come from elected councillors only when they preside over the inauguration of councils expected soon.

He spelt out the Government position basing his facts on Section 274 (2) as read with Sections 265(2) and 275 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

The directive sparked debate, with the MDC-T filing an urgent chamber application at the Electoral Court on Tuesday seeking to compel the outgoing Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo to allow non-councillors to be elected as mayors and chairpersons of local authorities.

Speaking after the chamber application, Mr Mandizha said he raised three preliminary objections and the judge agreed with him on the second one of jurisdiction of the court.

“We raised three preliminary points before hearing the main case. Justice Makoni agreed with us that the matter was wrongly filed at the Electoral Court.

“The respondents (Ministry and provincial administrators) were arguing that the Electoral Court has no jurisdiction to grant the order sought.

“The applicants, after preliminary arguments, conceded that the court indeed did not have jurisdiction at all before withdrawing the matter. The party also tendered the wasted costs,” said Mr Mandizha.

MDC-T spokesperson and a principal at Mwonzora and Associates, Mr Douglas Mwonzora confirmed the withdrawal of the case.

“Yes we have withdrawn the matter at the advice of Justice Makoni who said that the Electoral Court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter,” he said.

Mr Mwonzora said the party was considering filing a fresh application at the High Court.
“We are now re-directing our application to the High Court,” he said.

MDC-T secretary for local government Mr Blessing Chebundo deposed an affidavit on behalf of the party indicating that they had already held their caucus to select mayoral candidates for all cities including Harare and Bulawayo.

He said some of the preferred candidates were not elected councillors.
When Government took a position on the qualification of mayors, MDC-T had already convened a caucus and selected outgoing Justice and Legal Affairs Deputy Minister Obert Gutu, a lawyer, as nominee for Harare mayorship.

It also hand-picked National University of Science and Technology lecturer Dr Mandla Nyathi as the new Bulawayo mayor.
MDC-T went further and nominated its Chitungwiza deputy spokesperson Mr Isaac Manyemba for mayor of the town.

The party argues that mayors can be elected from persons who may not be elected councillors.
MDC-T argues that Section 277(2) of the Constitution states that non-executive mayors will be elected at the first sittings of the appropriate councils.

The party also argues that Section 49 of the Urban Councils Act, that provides for qualification of mayors, does not disqualify anybody who is not an elected councillor to stand as a mayor.

Section 103 of the Urban Councils Act, according to MDC-T, stipulates that mayors can be elected from councillors or other persons.