#ElectionsZW: ED gave CCC candidates less than 48 hrs to file nominations for by-elections
President Emmerson Mnangagwa gave less than 48 hours for the recalled People’s Democratic Party (PDP) legislators to file nomination papers for by-elections following a change of heart by the High Court.
The High Court through Justice Tawanda Chitapi ruled that their recall was illegal, but another High Court Judge instructed the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to proceed with the nomination that had been cancelled.
This gave Mnangagwa who is on leave power to proclaim the by-elections dates for the seats.
Statutory Instrument 16A of 2022, Proclamation 2 of 2022 which was gazetted on the 27 of January 2022 allowed the nomination court to reopen on 28 January 2022 at 10:00hrs and close at 16:00hrs to allow the nomination of the candidates for Pumula, Nkulumane, Harare East, Kambuzuma, Mutasa South and Mbizo constituencies.
Willias Madzimure who is part of the PDP legislators that were recalled and is standing in the by-elections under the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) arrived at the court at around 3 pm, which is an hour before close.
Madzimure said he received the message about the nomination when he was about 300 kilometres away from Harare.
‘’So, I was attending a Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Workshop in Vumba, only to be told in the morning that I must rush to Harare to file my nomination papers,’’ he said.
According to Madzimure, former Finance Minister Tendai Biti was also affected by the issue, as he was out of the country but had left his nomination papers just in case.
They managed to file the papers yes, of course, he has managed to know the unbelievable can happen. So, when he left the country, he left everything in order and they just filed the papers successfully,’’ he added.
The seasoned legislator said what happened can never happen to Zanu PF officials, adding that it was not different from the apartheid system.
#ElectionsZW: ED gave CCC candidates less than 48 hrs to file nominations for by-elections
