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This article participates on the following special index pages:
Index of results, reports, press stmts and articles on March 31 2005 General Election - post Mar 30
MDC
to challenge poll in court, perhaps on streets
Jonathan
Katzenellenbogen, Business Day
April 13, 2005
http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/zimbabwe.aspx?ID=BD4A35912
AS THE main opposition
party in Zimbabwe, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), took up its
41 seats in parliament yesterday, it detailed its allegations of a stolen
election in what it hinted may be a prelude to a call for mass action.
MDC spokesman Paul
Themba Nyathi said in Johannesburg yesterday that while the party was
taking up its seats in parliament, it would consider pursuing a range
actions within the framework of Zimbabwe’s constitution.
The MDC has yet to
have one of its cases contesting previous elections heard, but legal spokesman
David Coltart said it would soon launch court challenges against a result
for a constituency in each province, to show "the systematic nature
of the fraud".
Pointing to a series
of "unexplained discrepancies" in the results, Coltart said
he was disturbed that SA’s official observer mission and that from the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) had not responded to the
allegations.
A nearly 60-page MDC
report includes letters outlining complaints of electoral malpractice
to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the state-owned broadcaster,
for what it alleged was unfair treatment of the party.
The allegations include:
denial of access to polling stations for MDC elections agents; about 10%
of voters (133155) were turned away in six of 10 provinces; and counting
started late, creating a gap for manipulation.
Yesterday the MDC
called for the commission to release immediately the voters’ roll in electronic
form, polling station returns and an independent results audit.
The MDC claims that
it was denied access to the data before the election.
It says total voter
numbers released by the electoral commission at 7.30pm on election night
do not match the collective count on the days following. Between the close
of polling and the announcement of results over the next 48 hours, a further
250000 votes appeared. The commission has refused to give total figures
for 48 constituencies.
In another violation
of Zimbabwe law, the MDC says voting figures were not released at polling
stations. In addition, the ink used to identify people who had voted had
rubbed off easily, enabling people to vote more than once.
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