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Con Court postpones indefinitely ruling on postal voting
Movement for Democratic Change
June 14, 2013

The Constitutional Court (Con Court) has postponed indefinitely a matter that was brought before it by Tavengwa Bukaibenyu seeking to overturn sections of the Electoral Act, which bar postal voting for ordinary Zimbabweans.

Bukaibenyu is in exile and is a driver by profession. He is challenging the Electoral Act as he feels it is disenfranchising millions of Zimbabweans in exile from exercising their right to vote.

He is claiming that the Act infringes on his rights to have a voice on who governs in Zimbabwe.

Postal and special voting in Zimbabwe has been a preserve of a very small group of people in Zimbabwe, particularly uniformed forces and diplomats. This process has largely been opaque.

In its Conditions for a Sustainable Election in Zimbabwe (CoSEZ), the MDC’s position is that there is need to put clarity and certainty of postal voting.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) needs to put in place mechanisms to ensure that this process is not abused. There is need for unimpeded monitoring of this voting process by all political parties and other election stakeholders.

JOMIC urged to investigate of political violence in Masvingo

The MDC provincial chairperson, Wilstaff Sitemere has called on the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC) to investigate cases of politically motivated violence and intimidation across the province as the country braces for the watershed polls.

Sitemere made the call at a JOMIC inter-party meeting held in Masvingo town on Wednesday. The MDC provincial chairperson said it was crucial that JOMIC investigate cases of intimidation and violence being reported across the province so that the province is not rocked by any form of political violence.

The meeting was to raise awareness about the code of conduct for political parties.

He said some traditional leaders were causing havoc in the rural areas by threatening villagers with eviction if they do not show allegiance to Zanu-PF.

“Some known traditional leaders are threatening villagers in the rural areas and it is my hope that JOMIC will act on the matter because we have received numerous reports of intimidation and threats of violence coming from traditional leaders,” he said.

“These issues have to be addressed before elections because some traditional leaders are defying the very tenets of the Global Political Agreement (GPA). Although we have received few reports about inter-party violence we are still very much concerned about the role being played by some traditional leaders in drumming up support for Zanu PF and threatening villagers. We hope JOMIC is going to quickly act on the matter,” said Sitemere.

He called on the police to be objective in handling political issues adding that law enforcement agents were too eager to please Zanu-PF by thwarting MDC activities and the will of the people in choosing freely people who will represent them.

“The police have an obligation to serve the interests of the public regardless of political affiliation but this has not been happening because the police are afraid of confronting Zanu-PF supporters who break the law while they have a knack of flexing their muscles on MDC supporters,” he said.

SADC summit this weekend

The SADC summit which was postponed from last weekend will now be held this Saturday 15 June 2013. The MDC will be taking to SADC its commitment to free and fair election which should be held as soon as possible without delay. However, the party will insist on key reforms that have a bearing on the freeness and fairness of the elections. These include;

1) Completion of the voter’s registration exercise

2) Eradication of all forms of state sponsored violence

3) Drawing up of a code of conduct to govern the behaviour of security services during elections in line with section 208 of the constitution which stipulate that;

• They should not be partisan
• They must not campaign for or against a political party and must respect fundamental Human Rights.
• There must be full democratisation of the state media to make it accessible to all contesting parties during election.
• There must be a realignment of all laws which have a bearing on elections into conformity with the constitution.

All these issues are provided for in the new constitution and it is only prudent for everyone concerned to adhere to constitutional provisions.

MDC website re-branded

In keeping in touch with the best international standards in information communication technology, the MDC has re-branded its website www.mdc.co.zw.

The site now has several features fresh features while it maintains some sections that were popular with the visitors. Visitors to the site can now subscribe on the page to receive regular updates and events taking place across the country.

The MDC website is one of the most popular political party website in the country and Africa and is updated daily. Visitors to the site can like the MDC social media pages on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Meanwhile, the MDC has launched a blog page to complement its other news outlets. The blog page - mdcnewsbrief.blog.spot will carry out insightful opinions and features by some of the top writers in and outside the country.

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