Source: . . . Chief Justice unveils poll petition fees | The Herald August 8, 2018
Bulawayo Bureau
LOSING presidential candidates wishing to challenge the outcome of the July 30 harmonised elections are required to fork out a security deposit of $5 000 upon filing their petitions.
Those challenging the results of the National Assembly will have to pay $2 000, while petitions lodged by candidates who took part in the local authority elections are supposed to pay $1 000.
According to Practice Direction Number 1 of 2018 signed by Chief Justice Luke Malaba, the Registrar of the Electoral Court is, in terms of section 168 (3) of the Electoral Act as read with section 28 of the Electoral Regulations of 2005, required to fix an amount of security for costs being not less than the amount prescribed by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) after consultation with the Chief Justice.
“After the necessary consultations, the amount prescribed for petitions filed consequently to the 30 July 2018 harmonised elections is: (i) US$1 000 for local authority election petitions (ii) US$2 000 for National Assembly election petitions and (iii) US$5 000 for Presidential election petitions,” read the document signed by Chief Justice Malaba.
The Nelson Chamisa-led MDC Alliance claimed that it had gathered enough evidence to challenge electoral results in 20 constituencies, while results in other constituencies were still being “analysed” as the opposition desperately seeks to overturn zanu-pf and President-Elect Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa’s victory in the just ended polls.
Cde Mnangagwa received 50,8 percent of the total votes cast, but Mr Chamisa, who garnered 44,3 percent of the vote, has rejected the results announced by Zec, alleging that they were manipulated. Mr Chamisa on Saturday met all the party’s candidates who participated in the just-ended polls for a review of the process.
Speaking after the meeting, party chairperson Mr Morgen Komichi said the meeting was part of the evidence-building process to enable them to file a court challenge against the results.
On his twitter account yesterday, Mr Chamisa announced that they have just finished going through the evidence given by their agents and V11 forms from across the country. In terms of the Electoral Act, petitions are lodged by candidates who took part in an election if they feel aggrieved by anything to do with the conduct of that election.
COMMENTS
Why set a whole lot of fees like that when you could just send the Fifth Brigade back in and shoot the people? Surely with all that fantastic military experience in Government at the top level – in the Gukuruhundi – Chiwenga the military commander, Shiri the executioner with his rapists, and ED himself as the mastermind – you can do it all again. And of course the British High Commissioner will get a fit of the giggles as you murder another
20 000 civilians? You guys are real heroes in Britain, It is such fun – do we need a Judge to add some legitimacy to this farce?
The Chief justice was just instructed what to do,as a last ditch effort by the criminals to try and discourage the challenge to the elections, actually most of our chief justices the past 20 years have be part of a cabal of criminals , and I am sure the current one is no different
We should be calm and let the courts come up with independent decisions on their own. Chamisa should stop divulging all issues on social media. This casts doubt on his credibility to be a president. Again, the MDC should not mediate in zanu pf issues as this resuscitates and expand pf rule. Biti should be mature as a lawyer. Take it from pro Ncube. Diplomacy counts. Mourayisa vanhu uye tinofa nenhamo.