via MDC-T mulls withdrawing parliamentary poll challenges | The Zimbabwean by Adrian Mutigwe
Outgoing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party is considering withdrawing all the 95 petitions it had lodged with the Electoral Court because of financial constraints.
Party spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora told The Zimbabwean yesterday that justice had been placed beyond the reach of Zimbabweans.
“Now that justice in our own country has been made so expensive we are reviewing our position as regards the elections petitions we had lodged with the electoral court,” Mwonzora said.
Media reports this week indicated that Zimbabwe’s Electoral Court is yet to set dates for the hearing of the 95 petitions filed by MDC-T National Assembly losing candidates because the petitioners had not tendered the requisite security of costs fee to the tune of $10, 000 per individual case to the Electoral Court registry.
Mwonzora said the other reason was to do with the Constitutional Court judgement that declared President Robert Mugabe had won the contentious July 31 harmonised poll that have been described by Tsvangirai as a “farce and monumental fraud”.
“The other reason we are reviewing our position is because the ConCourt has already declared the elections free and fair. So we do not see how any other court, a lower one at that passing a judgement centrally to this one.
“The fee being charged by the Electoral Court is designed to deny us not only access to justice but also prevent us from exposing this fraud,’ said Mwonzora.
Tsvangirai two weeks ago filed a petition with the ConCourt disputing the results of the hotly contested polls won by Mugabe by 61 percent to the outgoing premier’s 34 percent. Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) also went on to win more two thirds majority of the parliamentary seats on offer.
The MDC-T president however went on to withdraw the petition on the grounds that the High Court had sat on an application in which the veteran trade unionist had sought to have the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission forced to grant him access to election material.
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 a requirement 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.
COMMENTS
Tsvangirai is a misguided misile he does’nt think properly he just indulge in ill advised decision. His 14 yrs as Mdc president had yielded nothing except disappointments & failers
Can you be factual please. The problem we are having is that ‘vanagudo gavauye’ have also joined the fray by castigating Morgan even where its not warranted. We witnessed people who claimed to be freedom fighters up to the point of accessing gratuity payments yet they were not even vanamujibha ( collaborators)!Here is someone whose narrow mind cannot see the future of his country let alone of himself!
If you say president Tsvangirayi has done nothing since he became leader of MDC you are an idiot. GNU was the MDC baby which arrested a galloping inflation of 2008. It appears its you who is misguided.
Here is what Tsvangirai and the MDC (which I don’t support did)
– Won about 58 seats in parliament (2000 election); first time some Zanu Pf big wigs tasted electoral defeat.
– Did very well in the 2002 presidential election which most likely was rigged in favour of Mugabe (first time Mugabe faced a real electoral challenge)
– Won a majority of parliamentary seats (2008 election) first time Zanu Pf lost majority in parliament
– Beat Mugabe in the presidential contest (first time Mugabe admitted he lost) they had to cook the results to force a run off which led to the formation of the GNU. Compare this to Michael Sata of Zambia who lost fairly contested elections since 2001 but won the latest.
– Stabilised Zimbabwe and gave Zimbabweans a chance to hope again
– Zanu Pf had to pull a shameful mother of all rigging and manipulation
While I do not support the MDC and its leader I acknowledge his contribution and his achievements albeit under the worst circumstances
good staff and reasoning. god bless you for acknowledging the gud existence of my part.
Mwonzora was part and parcel of the team that drafted the new Zimbabwean constitution. Hapana nyaya. As a lawyer he should have advised his party on time of the implications of the cost issues as demanded or as set out. Stop Rubbishing our ZEC, our courts and the judiciary system. Zvinoda amadhodha izvi.
always thought zims were educated enuf not 2b fooled by a nonzim 4 33yrs
Bennett withdrew funding..smart guy..racist but he realized the mdc has got to change its leader and have followers who will die for their cause…heck..the empowerment program does sound better then the promise of having rich friends. .
This is the lawless state of Zimbabwe where the Judges and Magistrates do Zanu PFs bidding no matter what the law says. The prevailing law in Zimbabwe does not include charging security for costs in this situation.
The west has also secretly supported ZANU. Is it any wonder they now want to call it Zimbabwe ‘lawless’. They are the proponents of lawlessness and they craftily help rigging of elections etc.in developing nations, particularly in Africa. Mr Bennett, if he knows what is good, should look beyond our borders to identify the true enemy of the people of Zimbabwe and not blame the leadership of the opposition.
Why pay good money after bad money? the MDC would be foolish to contest a process which has shown substantial bias.It would be better served in preparing a Shadow government in the knowledge that the current one has a limited life span.
As the succession battle rages,the road will b littered with casualties(real and perceived) creating a political vacuum which will require an effective plan of execution.
As with everything I may b wrong, but I believe that t6he next cabinet will b short lived.
The MDC is undergoing trial at the moment, the decisions they make will determine if they have what it takes to rule the country or sink into oblivion before even the zanu muppets whose days are numbered.
tswangirai is a zanupf agent,period
us zims hv been taken 4 a ride 4 2long. D laughng stock 4 d world. Time 2 get 1Arab 2do wat we faild 2do all d yrs