HARMONISED elections slated for August 23 will go ahead as scheduled and nothing, including the present court challenges, will derail them, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has said.
As such ZEC has started the printing of ballot papers for
constituencies and wards where there is no contestation.
Reacting to claims that some cases before the courts could
result in delays or possible postponement of the polls, ZEC said all is set for
the elections.
This comes as the court has delayed the dispatch of voting
materials after ZEC suspended the printing of ballot papers that will be used
for the presidential election, as well as in more than a dozen National
Assembly polls.
However, ZEC vice-chairman Ambassador Rodney Kiwa told our
Harare Bureau yesterday that failure to hold the harmonised polls on the date
proclaimed by the President was not an option.
Amb Kiwa said the printing of ballot papers was already
underway with those constituencies where there are court contestations being
the only exceptions.
He said ZEC was “very much on top of the situation”.
“Elections will be held on August 23, 2023, as proclaimed
by His Excellency, the President on May 31, 2023. We are printing ballots for
those constituencies and wards that are not being contested in the courts.
“We will share that information at the appropriate time but
be assured that ZEC’s procurement is very much on top of the situation,” Amb
Kiwa said.
ZEC said a court application filed last week by a
presidential hopeful, Mr Saviour Kasukuwere, challenging the decision to bar
him from contesting the election had stalled the printing of ballot papers for
presidential elections.
Mr Kasukuwere filed an application at the Constitutional
Court seeking an order to quash a ruling by the Supreme Court that upheld a
High Court order nullifying his nomination to run as a presidential candidate.
ZEC is expected to advise of the printing timelines soon
after the conclusion of the outstanding application, which is currently before
the courts.
Meanwhile, ZEC said following the holding of successful
Chiefs Council elections last week, the stage had been set for the conducting
of polls for the president and deputy president of the Council on Thursday.
“Everything is set for elections for the president and
deputy president of the Council,” said Amb Kiwa in an earlier interview with
The Herald.
A total of 36 chiefs were duly elected to the National
Council of Chiefs across the country in a glitch-free environment that sets the
stage for the election of the Council’s president and deputy president.
Last week’s election saw five chiefs being elected in
Manicaland, Mashonaland Central (4), Mashonaland East (4), Mashonaland West
(4), Masvingo (5), Matabeleland North (5), Matabeleland South (4) and Midlands
(5). Herald
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