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All eyes on Harare for crucial poll petition

Publish date: 20 August 2018
Issue Number: 4526
Diary: Legalbrief Today
Category: General

Nine Constitutional Court justices and five days are all that stand between Zimbabwe's past and its future. The Sunday Times reports that the skirmish begins today, when Zanu-PF is expected to file its heads of argument ahead of Wednesday's Constitutional Court sitting where the outcome of the 30 July presidential election will be decided. After the hearing, the justices – led by Chief Justice Luke Malaba – will have until Friday to announce their decision. Parliamentary and civic rights watchdog Veritas Zimbabwe said the court had several options. These include confirming the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) declaration on 3 August that Zanu-PF's Emmerson Mnangagwa had won the election with 50.8% of the votes, declaring the MDC's Nelson Chamisa as the winner (even though the ZEC said he received just 44.3% of the votes) or invalidating the election.

Full Sunday Times report (subscription needed)

The ZEC has trimmed down the percentage of votes it awarded Mnangagwa. However, the adjustment is not enough to overturn his victory in last month’s poll. The amendment was revealed by ZEC chair Priscilla Chigumba in her response to a court challenge to Mnangagwa's victory by Chamisa. The Daily News reports that Chigumba said there had been a ‘clerical error’ that affected the original tally. Chamisa gained an extra 4 483 votes while Mnangagwa lost 4 453 votes. This represents a change of 0.08% of the results announced. ‘The final computations do not alter significantly the announced 2018 presidential results,’ she said. A report on the News24 site notes that the miscalculation, albeit a slight one, will fuel criticism of ZEC, which was accused of bias and incompetence ahead of the 30 July poll. If Mnangagwa had received 40 000 fewer votes, his share of the vote would have been under 50% and there would have been a run-off.

Full Daily News report

Full Fin24 report

South African legal heavyweights, advocates Dali Mpofu and Tembeka Ngcukaitobi have arrived in Harare to prepare for the case that could see the result overturned. However, Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi this weekend warned that they cannot practise without his permission. ‘They need to apply to me to consider the request and advise the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) accordingly,’ Ziyambi told The Herald. ‘Suppose they want to argue this matter.....they know the procedure to follow. As it is, I do not know what their game plan is,’ he added. Chamisa's spokesperson, Nkululeko Sibanda told New Zimbabwe that Kenyan and Zambian lawyers are also due to join the MDC Alliance's legal team. The Daily Maverick reports that the team is expected to argue that the poll was rigged and that that it wasn’t free and fair because, inter alia, the state media was biased. They claim to have figures showing that Chamisa was really the winner of the poll, and should be declared as such, or alternatively they want a run-off election between the two candidates (this would have to happen next month) or a complete re-run of the elections. Comparisons have been drawn between Kenya’s disputed presidential poll last year that re-elected Uhuru Kenyatta, and the disputed Zimbabwe poll. In Kenya, Kenyatta's victory was nullified by the Supreme Court after a successful petition launched by opposition leader Raila Odinga, notes a report on the News24 site. ‘Odinga has close ties with Zimbabwe’s opposition MDC Alliance,’ New Zimbabwe reported. ‘His (Chamisa's) legal team hired from Kenya will likely provide interesting insights’ on the Kenyan experience, it added.

Full report in The Herald (subscription needed)

Full Daily Maverick report

Full Fin24 report

Full New Zimbabwe report

Full Daily News report

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation has been granted what appears to be the sole right to broadcast the poll challenge. In a response to an application filed together with many more in the private broadcasting space to air the event, the Judicial Services Commission gave ZBC-TV the go-ahead, to the exclusion of others. 'We are pleased to note that you have the capacity to distribute live signal feed to other broadcasters who may be interested in covering the court proceedings. We will accordingly refer them to you if there is need,' the commission said. New Zimbabwe report that the Media Institute of Southern Africa has filed a constitutional challenge demanding the right to broadcast the event.

Full New Zimbabwe report

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