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State extends nominations
The Herald (Zimbabwe)
February 06, 2008

http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=30537&cat=1

THE sitting of Nomination Courts will be pushed forward by a week following requests by Zanu-PF and both factions of the MDC to President Mugabe to allow them more time to complete the selection of candidates.

The Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Cde Patrick Chinamasa, said President Mugabe will push the sitting of the Nomination Courts to next Friday but reiterated that election date remains March 29.

The courts were scheduled to sit this Friday to receive nominations of candidates for the March 29 presidential, parliamentary and council elections.

Cde Chinamasa said the parties had also requested that the Electoral Act be further amended with reference to provisions dealing with requirements for candidates seeking council seats.

He said two statutory instruments effecting the changes were expected to be gazetted today.

Cde Chinamasa said the parties wanted the production of clearance certificates by prospective council candidates to prove that they had no rate arrears to be scrapped.

"The use of Presidential powers is coming at the request by both MDC formations and Zanu-PF who felt that there was need to remove these bottlenecks.

"The election date will remain since the amendments of the Nomination Court days are within the period prescribed by the Electoral Act," Cde Chinamasa said last night.

Independent MP Professor Jonathan Moyo and former opposition leader Mrs Margaret Dongo had yesterday filed an urgent application with the High Court seeking a postponement of the Nomination Court sitting from February 8 to a "more reasonable date".

But the application will now fall away.

The two had said postponement would give candidates contesting in the harmonised March elections enough time to prepare.

In their application Prof Moyo, the MP for Tsholotsho and former Information Minister, and Mrs Dongo — formerly leader of the Zimbabwe Union of Democrats — were claiming that the date for the nomination process was determined and made available to the public before the final delimitation report had been published contrary to principles of fair electoral practice.

Zanu-PF and MDC were yesterday battling to finalise selection of candidates ahead of this Friday.

MDC officials and supporters were by last night holed up at their Harvest House headquarters selecting candidates.

Zanu-PF, which had indicated that final results of its primary elections would be released yesterday, was by last night still to complete the process.

The Zanu-PF national election directorate met last night to consider complaints raised by party supporters.

The complaints ranged from imposition of candidates to the manner in which the quota system was being implemented.

Secretary for the commissariat Cde Elliot Manyika said the ruling party’s national election directorate had not yet completed deliberations.

He said the national election directorate would meet again this morning.

Cde Manyika added that the primaries were cumbersome but was hopeful they would be completed in time for nomination.

However, results from provinces continued to trickle in while polls in some constituencies have been stalled to allow the party leadership to attend to complaints raised by some party supporters.

Preliminary results obtained by The Herald have so far indicated that at least four ministers had lost to minnows in the primary polls.

These are Agriculture Minister Cde Rugare Gumbo, his deputy Cde David Chapfika, Minister of Education and Culture Cde Aeneas Chigwedere and Deputy Minister of Small to Medium Enterprises Cde Kenneth Mutiwekuziwa.

Cde Gumbo lost to former journalist Cde Makhosini Hlogwane while Cde Chapfika was outpolled by former Deputy Home Affairs Minister Cde Marble Chinomona.

Finance Minister Cde Samuel Mumbengegwi shrugged off a challenge from former Masvingo governor Cde Josiah Hungwe’s in the Chivi Senate primary elections.

In Mashonaland East Defence Minister Cde Sydney Sekeramayi will represent Zanu-PF in the Marondera-Wedza Senate seat after he was unopposed while Cde Uriah Kabayanjiri was also unopposed in the Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe-Mudzi Senate seat.

Zanu-PF Women’s League commissar Cde Tracy Mutinhiri won in Marondera East while Cde Ambrose Mutinhiri was unopposed in Marondera West as were Cdes Joel Biggie Matiza (Murehwa South), Dr David Parirenyatwa (Murehwa North) Lillian Zemura (Murehwa West), Olivia Muchena (Mutoko South), Aguilina Katsande (Mudzi North) and Eric Navaya (Mudzi South).

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