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ZEC consents to debarring ZimRights
Crisis
in Zimbabwe Coalition
March 15, 2013
The Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC) today consented to having its decision
of barring the ZimRights
from accrediting to observe the referendum set aside, paving the
way for the local NGO to re-apply for accreditation.
According to
the Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights (ZLHR) Senior Projects Lawyer, Tawanda Zhuwarara:
“ZEC realized
that they had made a gross error at law and where not opposed to
the application we filed. ZEC made a consent order meaning that
their decision to refuse to accredit ZimRights was set aside. What
remains now is for ZimRights to reapply for accreditation and for
ZEC to ensure that it follows the law. They knew they were in the
wrong so we won that fight before it even begun ”
ZEC had barred
ZIMRIGHTS from accrediting to observe the referendum, scheduled
for tomorrow, on the basis that the organization was “under
criminal investigations”.
This initial stance adopted by ZEC had raised the ire of the Civil
Society Organisations (CSOs) who earlier this week wrote a letter
of protest to the Inclusive
Government (IG) Principals President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, Professor Welshman Ncube and Deputy Prime Minister
Aurthur Mutambara.
The letter dated
March 11, 2013 stated:
“We wish
to place on record our collective outrage at the refusal by the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to allow our fellow CSOs to
accredit as domestic observers ahead of the constitutional referendum
scheduled to take place on 16 March 2013.”
The Principals,
in turn, concurred with the view adopted by the Heads of Coalitions
saying that no local organisation should be barred from observing
the imminent constitutional referendum. In a letter written by Secretary
to the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers Ian Makone to the
Civil Society Heads of Coalitions and Networks dated March 12, 2013
and copied to ZEC Acting Chairperson Mrs Joyce Kazembe, Makone stated:
“I am
happy to inform you that at the meeting of the Principals on Monday,
it was agreed that no local civic society organisation should be
barred from observing and monitoring the referendum as this would
be contrary to the Bill of Rights and the cardinal rule of natural
justice that every person is innocent until proven guilty.”
Despite these
pronouncements, ZEC officials maintained at their final referendum
meeting held on 13 March, 2013 that they would not allow ZIMRIGHTS
to accredit as referendum observers which led to ZimRights filing
an urgent High Court chamber application seeking to ask ZEC’s
accreditation committee to reconvene and reconsider their application.
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