Prof Jonathan Moyo's election petition fatally defective

A High Court judge in Bulawayo yesterday dismissed with costs an electoral petition by the Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Professor Jonathan Moyo.

Justice Martin Makonese delivered the judgment confirming MDC-T's Roseline Sipepa Nkomo as the duly elected Member of the House of Assembly for Tsholotsho North constituency.

Justice Makonese said Prof Moyo's petition was fatally defective and of no force and effect for want of compliance with the law.

"The applicant's petition is hereby dismissed with costs and the respondent Roseline Nkomo is declared duly elected MP for Tsholotsho North constituency," said Justice Makonese.

He directed the Registrar to proceed to confirm the poll results in terms of Section 171 of the Electoral Act. Prof Moyo, through his lawyer Terence Hussein, argued that the petition complied with the provisions of the Electoral Act and complained about denial of a recount.

In response Justice Makonese said: "The content therein does not really disclose with any reasonable clarity the grounds upon which the election challenge is made. The aspect of denial of a recount falls away by virtue of the fact that the vote recount was set aside by an order of the court."

Sipepa Nkomo had argued through her lawyer Kucaca Phulu that the grounds of the appeal were "imprecise and vague" that it was not clear what she should answer to.

Justice Makonese said referring the matter for trial under such circumstances where the petition relied on vague and imprecise grounds, "amounts to a fishing expedition."

Prof Moyo last year withdrew petitions against eight of the respondents he had cited in the petition, but still challenged Sipepa Nkomo's victory seeking a nullification of the election results.

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) last year argued that petitions citing it as a respondent were defective because that was in breach of the electoral laws, which define that a respondent in a petition of that nature should be a winner in the contested election.

Prof Moyo lodged a complaint to the electoral court soon after announcement of the election results seeking a recount of the votes, citing numerous anomalies in the process.

He then filed a petition at the Electoral Court in Bulawayo, in terms of Section 168 of the Electoral Act seeking a nullification of the election and an order for fresh elections in the constituency.