News / National
Tsvangirai scuttles Mugabe inauguration
13 Aug 2013 at 12:39hrs | Views
President Robert Mugabe's inauguration following his disputed re-election in the just-ended harmonised polls has been stalled after Morgan Tsvangirai's Friday Constitutional Court (Con-Court) petition seeking to nullify the result.
With Tsvangirai seeking to compel the country's top court to order fresh elections within 60 days, Zanu-PF's plans for a mega inauguration have been put on hold, at least for now.
The new Constitution stipulates that in the event of an electoral petition being filed, the Constitutional Court has to settle the matter within 14 days and the president-elect should be sworn in within 48 hours of the ruling if the challenge is thrown out.
While Mugabe is anxious over his inauguration to restore legitimacy, the row over election results has obviously spoiled the party and delayed the event.
Observers say it will be extremely difficult for the MDC in spite of all the evidence available, to convince the courts that they have a case for electoral fraud given the polarisation of the country's judiciary.
In an over 60-page application to the Con-Court, Tsvangirai is seeking to compel the courts to order fresh elections, citing widespread vote manipulation and irregularities.
"The prayer that we seek is that this election be declared null and void. And also that a fresh election be called in 60 days," said Tsvangirai in his application.
Tsvangirai claims he has oral and physical evidence to prove that the electorate was manipulated into voting for Mugabe.
"The grounds that we seek this nullification are 15 in number," MDC spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said.
"These include bribery by some of the contesting candidates. We saw doling out of the foodstuffs, kitchenware and so-on. That is not allowed in terms of our Constitution."
The labour-backed party also argued that over half a million people were disenfranchised on voting day and 300 000 people were turned away.
Tsvangirai's party also questions the suspiciously high number of assisted voters in a country with the highest literacy rate in Africa. He also cites intimidation and the failure by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to furnish candidates with the electronic version of the voters' roll before polling day.
"We will be able to provide electronic evidence, and on the voters' roll we have over 870 000 names duplicated, and in one instance, I think we have got the Tshuma family, the surname Tshuma is occupying 40 pages, and these people were all born on the same day," Mwonzora said.
Zanu PF has welcomed the court challenge.
"What they are doing is a good thing, it's a wise road to take," said Zanu PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo.
Mugabe yesterday said his re-election was free and fair in an address to thousands of supporters celebrating the Heroes' Day in the capital, Harare.
"Those who were hurt by defeat can go hang if they so wish," Mugabe said.
"Never will we go back on our victory," he said in his first public address since the July 31 vote.
Constitutional law expert and former Tsvangirai ally Lovemore Madhuku has said the former trade unionist's chances of success in court were limited.
Madhuku said Tsvangirai's chances "are non-existent, completely non-existent".
"It's not a margin that normally gets challenged in court," said Madhuku.
Welshman Ncube, leader of the smaller MDC, said his party was aware that the just ended elections were neither fair nor free in the strictest definition of the terms and as such the outcome was not a legitimate one.
"That the elections were rigged is not debatable, it is a fact," Ncube said.
"While all this glaring failure of the electoral process is real, the party having considered all available options has opted to refrain from taking the disputes to court. The futility of going to the courts must be read with the Jealousy Mbizvo Mawarire Constitutional Court ruling, which led to the frog marching of Zimbabweans into an election for which Zec were ill prepared to run. It is therefore our well-considered view that taking this matter to court will be akin to going to Robert Mugabe and asking him to reverse his 'victory'."
With Tsvangirai seeking to compel the country's top court to order fresh elections within 60 days, Zanu-PF's plans for a mega inauguration have been put on hold, at least for now.
The new Constitution stipulates that in the event of an electoral petition being filed, the Constitutional Court has to settle the matter within 14 days and the president-elect should be sworn in within 48 hours of the ruling if the challenge is thrown out.
While Mugabe is anxious over his inauguration to restore legitimacy, the row over election results has obviously spoiled the party and delayed the event.
Observers say it will be extremely difficult for the MDC in spite of all the evidence available, to convince the courts that they have a case for electoral fraud given the polarisation of the country's judiciary.
In an over 60-page application to the Con-Court, Tsvangirai is seeking to compel the courts to order fresh elections, citing widespread vote manipulation and irregularities.
"The prayer that we seek is that this election be declared null and void. And also that a fresh election be called in 60 days," said Tsvangirai in his application.
Tsvangirai claims he has oral and physical evidence to prove that the electorate was manipulated into voting for Mugabe.
"The grounds that we seek this nullification are 15 in number," MDC spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said.
"These include bribery by some of the contesting candidates. We saw doling out of the foodstuffs, kitchenware and so-on. That is not allowed in terms of our Constitution."
The labour-backed party also argued that over half a million people were disenfranchised on voting day and 300 000 people were turned away.
Tsvangirai's party also questions the suspiciously high number of assisted voters in a country with the highest literacy rate in Africa. He also cites intimidation and the failure by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to furnish candidates with the electronic version of the voters' roll before polling day.
Zanu PF has welcomed the court challenge.
"What they are doing is a good thing, it's a wise road to take," said Zanu PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo.
Mugabe yesterday said his re-election was free and fair in an address to thousands of supporters celebrating the Heroes' Day in the capital, Harare.
"Those who were hurt by defeat can go hang if they so wish," Mugabe said.
"Never will we go back on our victory," he said in his first public address since the July 31 vote.
Constitutional law expert and former Tsvangirai ally Lovemore Madhuku has said the former trade unionist's chances of success in court were limited.
Madhuku said Tsvangirai's chances "are non-existent, completely non-existent".
"It's not a margin that normally gets challenged in court," said Madhuku.
Welshman Ncube, leader of the smaller MDC, said his party was aware that the just ended elections were neither fair nor free in the strictest definition of the terms and as such the outcome was not a legitimate one.
"That the elections were rigged is not debatable, it is a fact," Ncube said.
"While all this glaring failure of the electoral process is real, the party having considered all available options has opted to refrain from taking the disputes to court. The futility of going to the courts must be read with the Jealousy Mbizvo Mawarire Constitutional Court ruling, which led to the frog marching of Zimbabweans into an election for which Zec were ill prepared to run. It is therefore our well-considered view that taking this matter to court will be akin to going to Robert Mugabe and asking him to reverse his 'victory'."
Source - daily news
