BVR kits court challenge removed from the urgent roll

The case in which MDC-T was seeking an order to stop the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) from surrendering the procurement of biometric voter registration kits to the State Procurement Board has been removed from the urgent roll.

The opposition party last week filed an urgent chamber application in the High Court in a bid to stop ZEC from using SPB to procure biometric voter registration kits.

The matter was on Wednesday removed from the roll after the MDC-T accepted that ZEC had extended the bid of the three companies that had launched their bid in the United Nations Development Programme's process.

Advocate Tawanda Zhuwarara instructed by Mr David Hofisi of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights confirmed to The Herald yesterday that the matter was no longer urgent.

"It will now proceed as an ordinary court application," said Adv Zhuwarara. "The issue which is now left for determination is whether or not ZEC can use the State Procurement Board to acquire election material."

In the application filed in the High Court on March 31, the applicants – Takudzwa Mavure, a Harare resident; and the MDC-T party, cited ZEC, Justice Rita Makarau (the ZEC chairperson) and the SPB as respondents.

MDC-T and Mavure argued that ZEC was deviating from its duty and wanted to discard a negotiated process and agreed position in the procurement of the biometric voter registration kits and surrender it to the SPB.

It was also argued that ZEC's move was unlawful in that the commission was neither a statutory body nor a procuring entity.

In surrendering the procurement of biometric voter registration kits, the lawyers argued that ZEC was bowing down to pressure from the Executive, which intended to take control of the procurement of the biometric voter registration kits.