News / National
Chamisa's candidate challenges election results in court
11 Sep 2023 at 16:40hrs | Views
The Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) House of Assembly candidate for Mutasa South constituency, Regai Tsunga, has initiated legal action by filing a petition with the Electoral Court to challenge the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's (ZEC) declaration of Zanu PF candidate Misheck Mugadza as the winner of the August 23 and 24 polls.
Mugadza was declared the victor with 11,608 votes compared to Tsunga's 10,383. Tsunga is contesting both the election's outcome and the declaration of Mugadza as the winner. He argues that the election failed to meet the minimum standards outlined in Zimbabwe's constitution and the principles of the African Union (AU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) Governing Democratic Elections.
In his petition, Tsunga points to several issues, including ZEC's alleged lack of transparency and openness on election day, which left voters, candidates, observers, monitors, and polling agents in the dark about proceedings before and during the election.
He contends that this lack of transparency violated Section 67 of Zimbabwe's constitution, which guarantees the right to free, fair, regular, and credible elections.
Tsunga also questions the alleged manipulation of the delimitation process, resulting in unfair practices like gerrymandering and the mixing of voters with no common interests in the constituency.
The petition highlights irregularities and malpractices in wards consisting of resettled farmers, who live in fear of eviction due to the lack of land tenure security, which hinders their ability to vote freely. Tsunga emphasizes the importance of providing farmers with title deeds or some form of land security.
The petition further accuses the Zanu PF candidate, Mugadza, of being directly or indirectly involved in a series of malpractices and irregularities.
Tsunga asserts that voter suppression in urban and peri-urban areas and strategic voter suppression and coercion in rural and farming wards contributed to an unfair electoral playing field that favored Zanu PF candidates in Mutasa South.
Additionally, Tsunga raises concerns about the extension of the elections from August 23 to August 24, suggesting that this extension was used to implement a "rigging mechanism" to offset the CCC's gains made on August 23.
The CCC's presidential candidate, Nelson Chamisa, has rejected the 2023 election results and refuses to recognize President Emmerson Mnangagwa as duly elected, citing the election's lack of credibility.
Notably, Chamisa chose not to file an election petition, citing a lack of confidence in the independence of Zimbabwe's judiciary. This election has seen a heightened level of pre-election litigation.
The SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM) also took the unprecedented step of condemning the elections, stating that they did not adhere to Zimbabwe's constitution, Electoral Act, and SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.
After the 2000 elections, the opposition filed numerous election challenges for MPs, but none of these cases were finalized by the judiciary before the parliamentary term lapsed in 2005.
Mugadza was declared the victor with 11,608 votes compared to Tsunga's 10,383. Tsunga is contesting both the election's outcome and the declaration of Mugadza as the winner. He argues that the election failed to meet the minimum standards outlined in Zimbabwe's constitution and the principles of the African Union (AU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) Governing Democratic Elections.
In his petition, Tsunga points to several issues, including ZEC's alleged lack of transparency and openness on election day, which left voters, candidates, observers, monitors, and polling agents in the dark about proceedings before and during the election.
He contends that this lack of transparency violated Section 67 of Zimbabwe's constitution, which guarantees the right to free, fair, regular, and credible elections.
Tsunga also questions the alleged manipulation of the delimitation process, resulting in unfair practices like gerrymandering and the mixing of voters with no common interests in the constituency.
The petition highlights irregularities and malpractices in wards consisting of resettled farmers, who live in fear of eviction due to the lack of land tenure security, which hinders their ability to vote freely. Tsunga emphasizes the importance of providing farmers with title deeds or some form of land security.
The petition further accuses the Zanu PF candidate, Mugadza, of being directly or indirectly involved in a series of malpractices and irregularities.
Tsunga asserts that voter suppression in urban and peri-urban areas and strategic voter suppression and coercion in rural and farming wards contributed to an unfair electoral playing field that favored Zanu PF candidates in Mutasa South.
Additionally, Tsunga raises concerns about the extension of the elections from August 23 to August 24, suggesting that this extension was used to implement a "rigging mechanism" to offset the CCC's gains made on August 23.
The CCC's presidential candidate, Nelson Chamisa, has rejected the 2023 election results and refuses to recognize President Emmerson Mnangagwa as duly elected, citing the election's lack of credibility.
Notably, Chamisa chose not to file an election petition, citing a lack of confidence in the independence of Zimbabwe's judiciary. This election has seen a heightened level of pre-election litigation.
The SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM) also took the unprecedented step of condemning the elections, stating that they did not adhere to Zimbabwe's constitution, Electoral Act, and SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.
After the 2000 elections, the opposition filed numerous election challenges for MPs, but none of these cases were finalized by the judiciary before the parliamentary term lapsed in 2005.
Source - online
