News / National
MDC-T withdraws court application on mayors
05 Sep 2013 at 13:25hrs | Views
MDC-T yesterday withdrew its application to compel the Ministry of Local Government, Urban and Rural Development to allow non-councilors to stand as mayoral candidates after realising that they had approached the wrong court.
Party lawyers from Mwonzora and Associates filed the urgent chamber application at the Electoral Court but Justice Lavender Makoni agreed with the lawyer for the Government Mr Joseph Mandizha that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter.
According to Mr Mandizha of Mandizha and Company, the matter had nothing to do with elections and instead it should have been filed at the High Court.
MDC-T lawyers then made a U-turn and quickly withdrew the application.
Two weeks ago secretary for Local Government Urban and Rural Development Mr Killian Mpingo instructed all provincial administrators to only consider candidates who are elected councilors for the mayoral posts.
Mr Mupingo instructed the administrators to ensure that those elected as mayors and chairpersons of councils come from elected councillors only when they preside over the inauguration of councils expected soon.
He spelt out the Government position basing his facts on Section 274 (2) as read with Sections 265(2) and 275 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
The directive sparked debate, with the MDC-T filing an urgent chamber application at the Electoral Court on Tuesday seeking to compel the outgoing Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo to allow non-councillors to be elected as mayors and chairpersons of local authorities.
Party lawyers from Mwonzora and Associates filed the urgent chamber application at the Electoral Court but Justice Lavender Makoni agreed with the lawyer for the Government Mr Joseph Mandizha that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter.
According to Mr Mandizha of Mandizha and Company, the matter had nothing to do with elections and instead it should have been filed at the High Court.
MDC-T lawyers then made a U-turn and quickly withdrew the application.
Two weeks ago secretary for Local Government Urban and Rural Development Mr Killian Mpingo instructed all provincial administrators to only consider candidates who are elected councilors for the mayoral posts.
Mr Mupingo instructed the administrators to ensure that those elected as mayors and chairpersons of councils come from elected councillors only when they preside over the inauguration of councils expected soon.
He spelt out the Government position basing his facts on Section 274 (2) as read with Sections 265(2) and 275 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
The directive sparked debate, with the MDC-T filing an urgent chamber application at the Electoral Court on Tuesday seeking to compel the outgoing Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo to allow non-councillors to be elected as mayors and chairpersons of local authorities.
Source - herald