News / National
Zanu-PF requests ballot recount in two constituencies
04 Aug 2013 at 12:19hrs | Views
Ballots in two seats in Zimbabwe's contested election are to be recounted after a request by President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, which has already won a two-thirds majority in the nation's parliament.
A recount in ZANU-PF's favour would bring the party's tally in the 210-seat parliament to 162. It already has the power to amend the Constitution and introduce laws without opposition.
The body in charge of the electoral process, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), said on Sunday it will recount ballots cast in Mudzi South and Tsholotsho North constituencies, after receiving requests from the candidates under Section 67A of the Electoral Act [Chapter 2:13].
"The procedure for recounting of votes is the same as that adopted during ordinary polling," Lovemore Sekeramayi, ZEC chief elections officer, said in a statement.
ZANU-PF's former information minister Jonathan Moyo had sought the recount in Tsholotsho North constituency were he lost to the MDC-T's Rosemary Sipepa-Nkomo. According to the initial count, Ms Sipepa-Nkomo MDC-T defeated Mr Moyo with 4,874 against 4,646.
In Mudzi South, ZANU-PF wants to overturn results showing a win by former party member and prominent lawyer Jonathan Samukange, who took 7,879 votes ahead of the ZANU-PF candidate Eric Navaya's 7,742.
Mr Mugabe won the elections with 61 percent of the vote, beating his arch-rival, leader of the MDC-T Morgan Tsvangirai who took 34 percent.
A recount in ZANU-PF's favour would bring the party's tally in the 210-seat parliament to 162. It already has the power to amend the Constitution and introduce laws without opposition.
The body in charge of the electoral process, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), said on Sunday it will recount ballots cast in Mudzi South and Tsholotsho North constituencies, after receiving requests from the candidates under Section 67A of the Electoral Act [Chapter 2:13].
"The procedure for recounting of votes is the same as that adopted during ordinary polling," Lovemore Sekeramayi, ZEC chief elections officer, said in a statement.
ZANU-PF's former information minister Jonathan Moyo had sought the recount in Tsholotsho North constituency were he lost to the MDC-T's Rosemary Sipepa-Nkomo. According to the initial count, Ms Sipepa-Nkomo MDC-T defeated Mr Moyo with 4,874 against 4,646.
In Mudzi South, ZANU-PF wants to overturn results showing a win by former party member and prominent lawyer Jonathan Samukange, who took 7,879 votes ahead of the ZANU-PF candidate Eric Navaya's 7,742.
Mr Mugabe won the elections with 61 percent of the vote, beating his arch-rival, leader of the MDC-T Morgan Tsvangirai who took 34 percent.
Source - FFZE
