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application by Good People’s Movement leader Dr Gadzamoyo Dewah to defer the sitting of Nomination Courts by a fortnight.
The driver, Mr Tavengwa Bukaibenyu lost his bid to vote the same way diplomats do, in a test case which was expected to grant Zimbabweans in the Diaspora an opportunity to participate in elections while in foreign land.
He sought to have certain sections of the Electoral Act struck off the statute books for violating the people’s freedom to vote.
Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku threw out the application and said reasons for the decision would follow later.
“The application is dismissed and there will be no order as to costs. Reasons for judgment will follow in due course,” ruled the court.
Mr Bukaibenyu, a registered voter in Mabvuku, Harare, filed the application seeking permission to vote while in South Africa.
Ministers of Justice and Legal Affairs, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs, the Registrar-General and the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission were cited as respondents.
Mr Bukaibenyu submitted that although he worked in South Africa, Zimbabwe was his permanent home and he was entitled to his right to vote.
He sought to declare Section 23 (3) and Section 71 of the Electoral Act unconstitutional.
Section 23 (3), according to Mr Bukaibenyu, provides that a person registered on a constituency voters’ roll is not entitled to have his name retained on such roll if he has ceased to reside in the constituency for a period exceeding 12 months.
Section 71, he said, which deals with postal voting only allows diplomats and other Government officials working outside the country to vote through postal ballot, while the generality of Zimbabweans in Diaspora are not given such an opportunity.
This, Mr Bukaibenyu argued, was discriminatory and the two sections of the Act had to be taken off the statutes.
Government opposed the application on the basis that postal ballot voting was expensive and the country had no resources to offer the facility to everyone.
Minister Patrick Chinamasa, in his opposing papers argued that the idea was not practical considering that Zimbabweans were dotted around the world and some even lived in countries where Zimbabwe does not have embassies.
He described it as an unfeasible and impossible exercise.
Minister Chinamasa argued that the exercise would be unfair to Zanu-PF because its agents would not be allowed to visit countries that imposed illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe.
In his application, Dr Dewah, who had no legal representation, failed to convince the nine-member panel to postpone the process.
Chief Justice Chidyausiku dismissed the application by Dr Dewah and said reasons for the decision would be given in due course.
“The application is hereby dismissed and reasons for the judgment will follow in due course,” ruled Chief Justice Chidyausiku.
Dr Dewah argued that the parties were given a short notice and that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was generally unprepared for the exercise.
He also argued that ZEC had serious logistical challenges indicative of a lack of readiness to conduct the election-related processes.
Dr Dewah sought an order compelling President Mugabe to proclaim funding of all political parties to promote multi-party democracy as enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
He argued that the Political Parties (Finance) Act was in violation of the Constitution of Zimbabwe because it only grants funding for bigger political parties.
Dr Dewah argued before the court that his party was formed recently but it had a huge following.
He said ZEC on the eleventh hour, managed to provide his party with 40 nomination forms for the National Assembly candidates and 40 others for the council, which he said was few considering his party’s candidates.
Parties, which are not part of the Global Political Agreement, according to Dr Dewah, did not benefit from the funding and that it gives the three parties in the GPA an unfair advantage over the minority parties.
“It is like embarking on a race in which we are running towards Kuwadzana when I start from Msasa while the others start the race from the National Sports Stadium. That is very unfair,” said Dr Dewah.
Meanwhile, suspended Mutare mayor Mr Brian Leslie James, who had been barred from submitting his nomination papers on the basis of the suspension, yesterday received the green light to file his papers and contest as a councilor without any hindrances.
Mr James was suspended in January last year through a letter by Local Government Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo.
No reasons or specific charges were preferred against Mr James and the 45 days prescribed at law lapsed without any disciplinary hearing or inquiry being made.
He filed an application to invalidate the suspension at the High Court, but the matter was yet to be set down for hearing, prompting his lawyers to file the constitutional application on an urgent basis.
Chief Justice Chidyausiku granted the application.
“Having heard arguments from all the parties, the court unanimously rules as follows:
“It is declared that the applicant is not disqualified from standing as a candidate in the forthcoming municipal election.
“There will be no order as to costs. Reasons for the judgment will be delivered in due course,” he ruled.
Online Reporter