The July 30 harmonised elections cannot be stopped for
whatever reason, with aggrieved candidates only able to challenge the outcome
of the polls. This was said by Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson
Justice Priscilla Chigumba while addressing her inaugural weekly media briefing
yesterday.
She was responding to questions on whether or not parties
and candidates can stop the elections based on any anomalies they might pick on
the voters’ roll.
“The first thing to take note of is once the President has
proclaimed the election date, there is nothing short of an earthquake which can
stop the election so whether candidates scrutinise the voters’ roll, whether
they see any anomalies in it, whatever the anomalies are, whatever legal
recourse they have will not stop the election. I want that to be very clear
that is the law,” she said.
“Nothing stops the election; if there are any anomalies in
that voters roll . . . candidates can possibly challenge the outcome of the
election but whatever legal recourse is at hand cannot stop the election.
“Nothing can stop the election after the proclamation of
the election date. What candidates can do for whatever reason and whatever
their opinions and views are, is to use anything that they come up with to
challenge any outcome of the election.”
Justice Chigumba said the candidates will receive their
free copies of the voters roll in a few days when the names of those that
successfully filed their papers is published.
“I think in the next day or so you will see a list of all
successfully nominated candidates, presidential, national assembly, and council
appearing in newspapers which is also a legal requirement. What the law then
says (is) immediately on gazetting the names of those successfully nominated
candidates they must be provided with free copy of that voters roll.”
The ZEC chairperson said they were working frantically to
print the required copies of all the candidates.
“We are actually frantically running all copies of
ward-based voters roll, constituency based voters roll and national voters roll
which must be availed to all successful nominated gazetted candidates. As you
know the presidential (election) we have 23 candidates and it is our priority
because it is a statutory constitutional requirement that those successfully
nominated candidates be awarded their copies of the voters roll as prescribed
in terms of the law and then members of the public will be allowed to pay for
and access the voters roll,” Justice Chigumba said. Herald
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