News / National
Zanu-PF to file Concourt papers tomorrow
14 Aug 2018 at 06:29hrs | Views
ZANU-PF is set to file a court challenge against MDC-Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa's election petition at the Constitutional Court tomorrow, a senior party official said yesterday.
Mr Chamisa filed his election petition at the Constitutional Court last Friday, challenging President Mnangagwa's victory in the July 30 harmonised elections.
In an interview, Zanu-PF Secretary for Legal Affairs Paul Mangwana said their response was ready, but would be filed tomorrow.
"We failed to file today (yesterday) because the courts are closed.
"We understand that they will only open on Wednesday, so we will only proceed to do so on Wednesday. "The court papers have been ready since morning," said Mangwana. He said Zanu-PF was well resourced with experienced lawyers.
"We have Advocate Lewis Uriri and Advocate Thembinkosi Magwaliba leading the team, but we have a team of more than 10 legal practitioners working on the matter.
"That resource called lawyers is not scarce in Zanu-PF. The Secretary of Legal Affairs is a lawyer and the leader of the party is also a lawyer and we have many other lawyers," said Mangwana.
In his petition, Mr Chamisa alleged electoral fraud and malpractices during the elections in which Zanu-PF romped to victory, claiming two-thirds parliamentary majority.
President Mnangagwa won 50,8 percent of the vote. After the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced the results, Mr Chamisa called a press conference and described the election results as fabricated and overblown to ensure the incumbent President's victory. His lawyer, Advocate Thabani Mpofu, said they had overwhelming evidence to prove that Mr Chamisa was cheated. The court has 14 days within which to make a determination of the dispute after all the parties complete filing the necessary papers.
According to his draft order, Mr Chamisa is seeking the nullification of President Mnangagwa's victory and wants the court to declare him the winner. He claimed the election was not conducted in accordance with the law and was not "free and fair".
Mr Chamisa filed his election petition at the Constitutional Court last Friday, challenging President Mnangagwa's victory in the July 30 harmonised elections.
In an interview, Zanu-PF Secretary for Legal Affairs Paul Mangwana said their response was ready, but would be filed tomorrow.
"We failed to file today (yesterday) because the courts are closed.
"We understand that they will only open on Wednesday, so we will only proceed to do so on Wednesday. "The court papers have been ready since morning," said Mangwana. He said Zanu-PF was well resourced with experienced lawyers.
"We have Advocate Lewis Uriri and Advocate Thembinkosi Magwaliba leading the team, but we have a team of more than 10 legal practitioners working on the matter.
"That resource called lawyers is not scarce in Zanu-PF. The Secretary of Legal Affairs is a lawyer and the leader of the party is also a lawyer and we have many other lawyers," said Mangwana.
In his petition, Mr Chamisa alleged electoral fraud and malpractices during the elections in which Zanu-PF romped to victory, claiming two-thirds parliamentary majority.
President Mnangagwa won 50,8 percent of the vote. After the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced the results, Mr Chamisa called a press conference and described the election results as fabricated and overblown to ensure the incumbent President's victory. His lawyer, Advocate Thabani Mpofu, said they had overwhelming evidence to prove that Mr Chamisa was cheated. The court has 14 days within which to make a determination of the dispute after all the parties complete filing the necessary papers.
According to his draft order, Mr Chamisa is seeking the nullification of President Mnangagwa's victory and wants the court to declare him the winner. He claimed the election was not conducted in accordance with the law and was not "free and fair".
Source - the herald
