Report of the National Assembly Nomination Courts

Introduction

As part of its efforts to enhance transparency in electoral processes and in keeping with its mission to promote democratic elections in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) deployed a total of 11 observers to all nomination courts for the National Assembly by-elections scheduled to be held on 26 March 2022.

The observers keenly followed the submission of the nomination papers for the National Assembly by-elections at the Nomination Courts which were located at the following addresses:

• Magistrates Court, Court 5, Tredgold Building, Leopold Takawira Avenue, Bulawayo
• Magistrates Court, Ruzawi Road, Marondera
• Magistrates Court, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa (Main Street), Gweru
• Magistrates Court, Corner Robert Mugabe Street and Jason Moyo Avenue, Masvingo
• Magistrates Court, Abdel Gamal Nasser Road (Rotten Row), Harare
• Magistrates Court, 102-4, Main Street, Mutare

The Nomination Courts

The date of the sitting of the Nomination Courts and the venues were in accordance with Statutory Instrument 2 of 2022 through which the President proclaimed by-elections. Candidates’ nomination was conducted in a peaceful environment, without any incidents reported by ZESN observers. Commendably, in some cases, for example at Masvingo Magistrates Court, there was signage to help in locating Nomination Court venues. Also, reports from ZESN observers indicate that Nomination Courts opened on time. In terms of Section 46, subsections 5 and 7, Nomination Courts open at 1000 hours and close at 1600 hours. COVID-19 prevention measures were reportedly being adhered to at Nomination Courts, including limiting the number of people in the Court at any given time.

A Nomination Officer is required in terms of Section 46, subsection (8) of the Electoral Act to; ‘examine every nomination paper lodged with him or her which has not been previously examined by him or her in order to ascertain whether it is in order and shall give any candidate or his or her election agent an opportunity to rectify any defect not previously rectified’. Further, the Nomination Officer ‘may adjourn the sitting of the court for that purpose from time to time, provided that the sitting shall not be adjourned to any other day that is not a nomination day’. The majority of the aspiring candidates made submissions that met the requirements, save for instances where the aspiring candidates were asked to make appropriate adjustments and corrections to their submissions. For instance, at the Gweru Magistrates Court, nomination papers for an aspiring candidate of the Zimbabwe People’s Action Party (ZPAP) were reportedly rejected because the prospective candidate was not a registered voter at the time proclamation for the by-elections was made. The aspiring candidate only registered after the voters’ roll for the National Assembly by-elections had been closed.

At Harare Magistrates Court; three aspiring candidates had their nomination papers rejected, two of them because their names were not on the voters’ roll and one of them registered after the voters’ roll for the National Assembly by-elections had been closed. At Masvingo Magistrates Court; a prospective candidate, Andrew Muzvarwi, of the United Democrats Alliance could not successfully lodge nomination papers as he did not have a birth certificate and had not been nominated by five registered voters from the constituency in which he sought to contest as required in keeping with Section 46 (1) (a) of the Electoral Act. Below is a list of the aspiring candidates whose nomination papers were rejected;

Source: ZEC

ZESN also received reports that some aspiring candidates submitted their completed nomination papers ahead of the sitting of the Nomination Court as permitted by the Electoral Law. Section 46, subsection (3) of the Electoral Act states that ‘Nomination papers in respect of candidates for election as constituency members of the National Assembly may be lodged with the constituency elections officers for the constituencies concerned at any time after the publication of the proclamation referred to in subsection (1) of section thirty-eight but before the time on nomination day or the last nomination day, as the case may be, specified in subsection (5)’.

In Bulawayo, Harare, and Masvingo Magistrates Courts, it was announced that some prospective candidates submitted their nomination papers ahead of the sitting of Nomination Courts. Aspiring candidates are encouraged to make use of this provision in the law that enables the ZEC ample time to review nomination papers and candidates to make corrections as might be necessary, thus reducing the chances of not succeeding at the nomination process.

Some of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) and The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) candidates lodged papers ahead of the sitting of the Nomination Court in Harare, while some of the aspiring candidates for Mwenezi East and Chivi Constituencies from ZANU-PF, MDC-Alliance and Free Zimbabwe Congress did the same.

When the Nomination Court convened on the 26th of November the Presiding Officers of the various courts started by announcing the names of those that had submitted their nomination papers ahead of the sitting of the Nomination Court, in accordance with Section 46 of the Electoral Act.

High court orders relating to the existence of National Assembly vacancies

The ZESN notes the uncertainty pertaining to the existence of vacancies in six National Assembly Constituencies following the 26 January High Court Order reversing the 25 January High Court Order that had stopped the holding of by-elections in the same Constituencies.

Conclusion

ZESN commends the aspiring candidates and political parties that fielded candidates during the sitting of the 26 January National Assembly Nomination Courts, for conducting themselves peacefully and observing the stipulated COVID-19 health protocols. ZESN urges political parties and their supporters to campaign peacefully ahead of, during and after the 26 March by-elections.

Source: ZESN