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Constitutional Court rules Zimbabwe election by July 31
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
May 31, 2013

The Constitutional Court has ruled that President Mugabe should announce a date, which enables harmonized elections before July 31.

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku was ruling on the court application by Jealous Mawarire of the Center for Elections and Democracy in Southern Africa (CEDS), compelling the Head of State to proclaim an election date before the end of life of parliament on June 29, 2013, when he made the decision this afternoon.

At the time of going to press, reasons for the judgement were still unclear. The Crisis Report has learnt that the judgment was supported by seven judges while two judges opposed the ruling, arguing it was unconstitutional to got beyond June 29 without holding elections.

Commenting on the development, Crisis in Zimbabwe (CiZC) Spokesperson Thabani Nyoni said:

“Proclamation of an Election date is an executive function for the President in the consultation at the very least with the Prime Minister, not judicial one.

“Without having a clear understanding of the courts reasoning, it would seem that the courts may have overstepped their mandate of interpreting the law, assuming executive functions – thus blurring the lines in respect of both separation of powers and constitutional mandates.

“The function if unchallenged and let to stand, is likely to present a lot of administrative and logistical challenges on the Zimbabwe Elections Commission (ZEC), and dent possibilities of holding free and fair elections.

“Considering that the current electoral process is a mediated process, subjecting it to court hamstrings the mediation process and ensures that should this ruling be followed there are a number of processes that will be fast tracked, damaging the election’s credibility,” Nyoni said.

Luke Tamborinyoka, Spokesperson of the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who was tasked by his fellow principals President Mugabe and Deputy Prime Minister Aurthur Mutambara to oversee the preparations for elections, confirmed the court ruling.

Meanwhile, Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), guarantor of the Global Peace Agreement (GPA) will hold a Special Summit on the impending elections in the country in Maputo, Mozambique on Sunday June 9 reportedly to discuss the security situation and pre-elections environment to ensure free and fair elections.

The Constitutional Court has ruled that President Mugabe should announce a date, which enables harmonized elections before July 31.

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku was ruling on the court application by Jealous Mawarire of the Center for Elections and Democracy in Southern Africa (CEDS), compelling the Head of State to proclaim an election date before the end of life of parliament on June 29, 2013, when he made the decision this afternoon.

At the time of going to press, reasons for the judgement were still unclear. The Crisis Report has learnt that the judgment was supported by seven judges while two judges opposed the ruling, arguing it was unconstitutional to got beyond June 29 without holding elections.

Commenting on the development, Crisis in Zimbabwe (CiZC) Spokesperson Thabani Nyoni said:

“Proclamation of an Election date is an executive function for the President in the consultation at the very least with the Prime Minister, not judicial one.

“Without having a clear understanding of the courts reasoning, it would seem that the courts may have overstepped their mandate of interpreting the law, assuming executive functions – thus blurring the lines in respect of both separation of powers and constitutional mandates.

“The function if unchallenged and let to stand, is likely to present a lot of administrative and logistical challenges on the Zimbabwe Elections Commission (ZEC), and dent possibilities of holding free and fair elections.

“Considering that the current electoral process is a mediated process, subjecting it to court hamstrings the mediation process and ensures that should this ruling be followed there are a number of processes that will be fast tracked, damaging the election’s credibility,” Nyoni said.

Luke Tamborinyoka, Spokesperson of the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who was tasked by his fellow principals President Mugabe and Deputy Prime Minister Aurthur Mutambara to oversee the preparations for elections, confirmed the court ruling.

Meanwhile, Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), guarantor of the Global Peace Agreement (GPA) will hold a Special Summit on the impending elections in the country in Maputo, Mozambique on Sunday June 9 reportedly to discuss the security situation and pre-elections environment to ensure free and fair elections.

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