via ZEC failure to provide online voters roll stalls MDC-T election challenge | SW Radio Africa by Alex Bell November 13, 2013
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s (ZEC) ongoing failure to provide an electronic copy of the voters roll has halted an electoral challenge by the MDC-T’s Jameson Timba.
Justice Chinembiri Bhunu, sitting as a judge of the Electoral Court, last month ordered the opening of all ballot boxes and election materials for Mount Pleasant’s National Assembly election, held on 31st July.
The order follows a court application by Timba, the MDC-T candidate in the area, to have the election result there set aside. He argued that there were several electoral malpractices and irregularities.
The order by Justice Bhunu originally said the inspection would begin from 31st October.
But this never happened after ZEC challenged the decision.
This week, Timba’s legal challenge was once again stalled after his application for an electronic copy of the voters roll was dismissed. ZEC has maintained that technical problems are preventing it from releasing an electronic copy of the roll.
Justice Bhunu dismissed the application on the basis that Timba needs to prove these technical challenges have been sorted out, before he can apply to the courts for the voters roll.
“Thus, before the Applicant’s application in this respect can succeed, he needs to show that the suspensive condition relating to the non-functionality of the electronic equipment has been fulfilled. In the absence of such fulfilment, the application cannot succeed,” ruled Justice Bhunu.
ZEC is claiming that their computers are still ‘broken.’
COMMENTS
How does the electronic voters’ roll create evidence for you when you already have 45 page dossier of rigging. Legal logic says bring your evidence to prove your case not to ask the accused to provide you with evidence to nail him down. No one would be that stupid.
That is not legal logic Sheba, what is legal logic is that the dossier currently at hand is based on the multi versions of the hard copies of the Voter’s roll is which are not even consistent with themselves , so in order to prove that inconsistence and anomalies the Electronic version needs to be availed to prove these anomalies emanating from different versions of the hard copies of the voters roll that were distributed to the parties.
Sheba the law says that the roll should be available. Why isn’t it availabe?
Which means elections were rigged& we want something beta from there mdc must requst fresh polls again without nikuv
Elections were rigged thats my answer & we stil want a rerun that has no nikuv inside. Mari yekuhaya zvisina basa vanayo asi ye free education haipo.Tiri kuda voters roll yakavhotwa nayo i publishwe tionewo kuti vakahwina zvri pamutemo ve constitution here kana kuti pachawo