The 23 recalled candidates, include deputy spokesperson
Gift Ostallos Siziba who was legislator for Pelandaba-Tshabalala, stubbornly
filed their nomination papers under the CCC, defying an earlier order by the
High Court that prohibited recalled CCC MPs from running for office in
by-elections under the party banner.
In his application filed last Friday, Tshabangu cited
Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to exclude 23 candidates
from ballot papers, arguing that the candidates had ceased to be CCC members.
Tshabangu also argues that the candidates who were recalled
last year, have not been re-admitted to the party, hence they should not
contest under the CCC banner.
“The application is made on the grounds that: On the 18th
of December 2023, the Nomination Court sat consequent upon promulgation of the
date for by-elections set down on the 3rd of February 2024.
“First to twenty-third respondents submitted their
nomination papers before the Nomination Court to be accepted as candidates in
the by-election as ‘members’ of a political party called Citizens Coalition for
Change (CCC party.
“This was despite the fact that in a prior and extant
judgment, they had been found by this court to have ceased to be members of
that party. The Nomination Court accepted the nomination papers,” Tshabangu
argued.
Last year, Tshabangu contested at the High Court and won
the challenge ahead of the December 9 by-election which resulted in 22
candidates being removed from the ballot.
However, unlike the previous by-elections, some former CCC
members filed their nomination papers as independent candidates for the
upcoming elections.
They did this to avoid disqualification, since they were
previously prohibited from running under the CCC name.
Unlike at the sitting of the nomination court for the
December 9 by-elections, some recalled CCC members filed their papers as
independent candidates for the February 3 by-elections to avoid being
disqualified.
This was in sharp contrast to the strategy taken by Nelson
Chamisa’s close allies to defiantly file nomination papers under the banner of
the same CCC party that recalled them to participate in the previous
by-elections.
Former Chegutu West Member of Parliament Admore Chivero,
Oliver Mutasa, who was Zvimba East lawmaker and Denford Ngadziore have been
spared from the latest legal battle after filing their nomination papers as
independent candidates.
This means that they will not be contesting the
by-elections under the CCC name, and the party’s legal disputes surrounding
their candidacy will not apply to them. Herald
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