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ZEC in contempt of court
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T)
September 10, 2013

In the just ended fraudulent election the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) refused to implement a High Court order compelling it to accept Christopher Chigwande the MDC candidate for Ward 12 in Mt Darwin East whom they had denied to file his nomination papers, falsely claiming that his papers were not in order.

The appellant Christopher Chigwande then approached the High Court on 8 July 2013 and lodged his appeal against ZEC’s decision before Justice Zhou. After going through the appellant’s case in Case No: EC15/13 Justice Zhou duly granted Chigwande the right to contest and ordered ZEC to accept his nomination papers and to duly register him as a candidate for Ward 12 in Mt Darwin East.

However, on 31 July 2013, the day of voting, Chigwande’s name was missing on the ballot paper. This allowed the Zanu-PF candidate to win uncontested for the position of councillor in the ward. Despite having launched a complaint on the matter with ZEC, the electoral body has not been cooperative. It is our considered assertion that ZEC must be held in contempt of court for failing to comply with the High Court order.

ZEC’s behaviour raises serious questions on the credibility of the electoral body particularly its impartiality in the handling of the just ended disputed election.

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