Opinion / Columnist
CCC's Bulawayo Nomination Court debacle
01 Jul 2023 at 08:14hrs | Views
Much has been said today in attempts to explain or excuse CCC's candidate nomination debacle in Bulawayo, following yesterday's press statement by Patrick Chinamasa, on Zanu-PF's position on the matter.
Apart from emotive bare denials and the usual ad hominem insults and crude personal demonisation, neither CCC nor its supporters have presented any facts to support their bare claim that all 12 CCC constituency candidates were present in court and ready to file complete and valid nomination papers by 4 pm, when the Nomination Court in Bulawayo closed on 21 June 2023, the nomination day.
Instead of providing any factual evidence establishing the presence and readiness of CCC candidates to file, by the material time, complete and valid nomination papers, CCC and its supporters have been pointing to the proviso [which they have highlighted in Chinamasa's press statement] under section 46(7) of the Electoral Act, as ‘their evidence", when in fact that proviso is only the law, which law must be applied to the facts of the case, which facts of the case CCC and its supporters do not have or are embarrassed to engage, fearing to expose themselves.
But even worse, CCC and its supporters are either deliberately misinterpreting the proviso they have highlighted, or they in fact do not understand it.
Section 46(7) of the Electoral Act with the proviso at the bottom provides that:
(7) No nomination paper shall be received by the nomination officer in terms of subsection (6) after four o'clock in the afternoon of nomination day or, where there is more than one nomination day for the election concerned, the last such nomination day:
Provided that, if at that time a candidate or his or her chief election agent is PRESENT in the court and READY to submit a nomination paper in respect of the candidate, the nomination officer shall give him or her an opportunity to do so.
I have put 'PRESENT' and 'READY' to highlight the point in question.
Section 46(7) is clear that "no nomination paper shall be received by the nomination officer after 4 pm" unless "at that time", meaning at 4 pm, a candidate or his or her chief election agent is PRESENT in the court and is READY to submit a complete and valid nomination paper.
This is very clear.
It's not enough to be present in court waiting for someone from Harare or wherever to bring correct correct papers or to come and sign fresh nomination papers.
It's also not enough to be loitering in the corridors or halls of the Court, making frantic calls to Harare or wherever, to no end. A candidate or their chief election agent has to be present inside the court and must be ready to file complete and a valid nomination paper. That is the law.
The fact is that none of the CCC candidates were present inside the Court and ready with complete and valid papers at 4 pm on nomination day, 21 June 2023.
None.
ZEC adjourned the Nomination Court from 4 pm to 6pm to accommodate CCC candidates who were in fact not READY to submit, for processing, complete and valid nomination papers in terms of the proviso under section 46(7) of the Electoral Act.
So the Nomination Court adjourned from 4 pm to 6 pm, then from 6 pm to 8 pm, then from 8 pm to 10 pm, then from 10 pm to midnight, then from midnight to 10 minutes after midnight [22 June 2023] and then went on well into the wee hours of 22 June 2023, a non nomination day!
From the attachment below, whose details have not been challenged, it is clear that the only CCC candidate who submitted fresh nomination papers after 4 pm, during the first unlawful adjournment from 4 pm to 6 pm was Sichelesile Mahlangu, who submitted at 5pm.
So, where were the rest of CCC's candidates who were allegedly present inside the court at 4 pm and were allegedly ready to submit complete and valid nomination papers?
Where were they?
At 5 pm, inside the Bulawayo Nomination Court on 21 June 2023, there was only Sichelesile Mahlangu, who herself, earlier at 4 pm, was not inside the Court and ready to file her complete and valid nomination paper, in terms of section 46(7) of the Electoral Act.
The bottom line is this:
If all the CCC candidates were PRESENT inside the Nomination Court by 4 pm, and if all of them were READY to file complete and valid nomination papers, why did the Nomination Court keep adjourning at two hour intervals from 4 pm to 6 pm to 8 pm to 10 pm to 12 midnight until it adjourned to the wee hours of the next day, 22 June 2023, which was not a nomination day, and which by law is not permissible?
Why?
That is the question!
Here is Sichelesile Mahlangu in her own words talking about CCC candidates who were not ready to submit complete and valid nomination papers at 4 pm, on 21 June 2023, the nomination day.
Around 4:04 pm on that day, @citezw posted a video interview with Sichelesile Mahlangu who was not present in court and who was not ready to submit a complete and valid nomination paper at 4 pm, and who instead ended up submitting her nomination paper at 5 pm:
"#BulawayoNominationCourt: Schelesile Mahlangu says every CCC candidate knew that they were filling their papers in the afternoon as part of their strategy. #Asakhe."
Sichelesile Mahlangu is asked by an interviewer:
"Akula ofayile amapapers akhe, kuhamba njani"? [no CCC candidate has filed their nomination paper, what is happening"?]
Sichelesile Mahlangu responds by saying that all the candidates know that they were supposed to file their papers together as a group in the afternoon and says there was an internal matter – which she does not disclose – between them which they were yet to finalise: "besilento yethu ekade sisayiqedisisa".
In the circumstances, Sichelesile Mahlangu ended up going into the Nomination Court to file her papers alone at 5 pm, well after the 4 pm deadline!
After 4 pm, when the Nomination Court had closed, the @SundayNewsZimba interviewed CCC's Gideon Shoko, a senatorial candidate, and posted a tweet with a video of the interview around 4:54 pm on nomination day:
"CCC candidates are requesting to submit their papers in Bulawayo after they failed to meet the 4pm deadline. The nomination court has closed".
Gideon Shoko leaves no doubt that he was not present inside the Court at 4 pm when it closed but claims to have been in the halls of the Court building. His claim aside, the law says a candidate or his or her chief election agent must be present in the court and be ready to submit complete and valid nomination papers.
The facts speak for themselves.
There's no need to interpret self-indulgent claims by exposed CCC candidates, who say they were in the halls of the court building at the material time, when they were supposed to be inside the Nomination Court, ready to file their nomination papers!
Apart from emotive bare denials and the usual ad hominem insults and crude personal demonisation, neither CCC nor its supporters have presented any facts to support their bare claim that all 12 CCC constituency candidates were present in court and ready to file complete and valid nomination papers by 4 pm, when the Nomination Court in Bulawayo closed on 21 June 2023, the nomination day.
Instead of providing any factual evidence establishing the presence and readiness of CCC candidates to file, by the material time, complete and valid nomination papers, CCC and its supporters have been pointing to the proviso [which they have highlighted in Chinamasa's press statement] under section 46(7) of the Electoral Act, as ‘their evidence", when in fact that proviso is only the law, which law must be applied to the facts of the case, which facts of the case CCC and its supporters do not have or are embarrassed to engage, fearing to expose themselves.
But even worse, CCC and its supporters are either deliberately misinterpreting the proviso they have highlighted, or they in fact do not understand it.
Section 46(7) of the Electoral Act with the proviso at the bottom provides that:
(7) No nomination paper shall be received by the nomination officer in terms of subsection (6) after four o'clock in the afternoon of nomination day or, where there is more than one nomination day for the election concerned, the last such nomination day:
Provided that, if at that time a candidate or his or her chief election agent is PRESENT in the court and READY to submit a nomination paper in respect of the candidate, the nomination officer shall give him or her an opportunity to do so.
I have put 'PRESENT' and 'READY' to highlight the point in question.
Section 46(7) is clear that "no nomination paper shall be received by the nomination officer after 4 pm" unless "at that time", meaning at 4 pm, a candidate or his or her chief election agent is PRESENT in the court and is READY to submit a complete and valid nomination paper.
This is very clear.
It's not enough to be present in court waiting for someone from Harare or wherever to bring correct correct papers or to come and sign fresh nomination papers.
It's also not enough to be loitering in the corridors or halls of the Court, making frantic calls to Harare or wherever, to no end. A candidate or their chief election agent has to be present inside the court and must be ready to file complete and a valid nomination paper. That is the law.
The fact is that none of the CCC candidates were present inside the Court and ready with complete and valid papers at 4 pm on nomination day, 21 June 2023.
None.
ZEC adjourned the Nomination Court from 4 pm to 6pm to accommodate CCC candidates who were in fact not READY to submit, for processing, complete and valid nomination papers in terms of the proviso under section 46(7) of the Electoral Act.
So the Nomination Court adjourned from 4 pm to 6 pm, then from 6 pm to 8 pm, then from 8 pm to 10 pm, then from 10 pm to midnight, then from midnight to 10 minutes after midnight [22 June 2023] and then went on well into the wee hours of 22 June 2023, a non nomination day!
From the attachment below, whose details have not been challenged, it is clear that the only CCC candidate who submitted fresh nomination papers after 4 pm, during the first unlawful adjournment from 4 pm to 6 pm was Sichelesile Mahlangu, who submitted at 5pm.
So, where were the rest of CCC's candidates who were allegedly present inside the court at 4 pm and were allegedly ready to submit complete and valid nomination papers?
Where were they?
At 5 pm, inside the Bulawayo Nomination Court on 21 June 2023, there was only Sichelesile Mahlangu, who herself, earlier at 4 pm, was not inside the Court and ready to file her complete and valid nomination paper, in terms of section 46(7) of the Electoral Act.
The bottom line is this:
If all the CCC candidates were PRESENT inside the Nomination Court by 4 pm, and if all of them were READY to file complete and valid nomination papers, why did the Nomination Court keep adjourning at two hour intervals from 4 pm to 6 pm to 8 pm to 10 pm to 12 midnight until it adjourned to the wee hours of the next day, 22 June 2023, which was not a nomination day, and which by law is not permissible?
Why?
That is the question!
Here is Sichelesile Mahlangu in her own words talking about CCC candidates who were not ready to submit complete and valid nomination papers at 4 pm, on 21 June 2023, the nomination day.
Around 4:04 pm on that day, @citezw posted a video interview with Sichelesile Mahlangu who was not present in court and who was not ready to submit a complete and valid nomination paper at 4 pm, and who instead ended up submitting her nomination paper at 5 pm:
#BulawayoNominationCourt: Schelesile Mahlangu says every CCC candidate knew that they were filling their papers in the afternoon as part of their strategy.#Asakhe pic.twitter.com/Azq6iOE8kh
— CITE (@citezw) June 21, 2023
"#BulawayoNominationCourt: Schelesile Mahlangu says every CCC candidate knew that they were filling their papers in the afternoon as part of their strategy. #Asakhe."
Sichelesile Mahlangu is asked by an interviewer:
"Akula ofayile amapapers akhe, kuhamba njani"? [no CCC candidate has filed their nomination paper, what is happening"?]
Sichelesile Mahlangu responds by saying that all the candidates know that they were supposed to file their papers together as a group in the afternoon and says there was an internal matter – which she does not disclose – between them which they were yet to finalise: "besilento yethu ekade sisayiqedisisa".
In the circumstances, Sichelesile Mahlangu ended up going into the Nomination Court to file her papers alone at 5 pm, well after the 4 pm deadline!
After 4 pm, when the Nomination Court had closed, the @SundayNewsZimba interviewed CCC's Gideon Shoko, a senatorial candidate, and posted a tweet with a video of the interview around 4:54 pm on nomination day:
CCC candidates are requesting to submit their papers in Bulawayo after they failed to meet the 4pm deadline. The nomination court has closed pic.twitter.com/hWDDE7Riuq
— Sunday News (@SundayNewsZimba) June 21, 2023
"CCC candidates are requesting to submit their papers in Bulawayo after they failed to meet the 4pm deadline. The nomination court has closed".
Gideon Shoko leaves no doubt that he was not present inside the Court at 4 pm when it closed but claims to have been in the halls of the Court building. His claim aside, the law says a candidate or his or her chief election agent must be present in the court and be ready to submit complete and valid nomination papers.
The facts speak for themselves.
There's no need to interpret self-indulgent claims by exposed CCC candidates, who say they were in the halls of the court building at the material time, when they were supposed to be inside the Nomination Court, ready to file their nomination papers!
Source - Twitter
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