Opposition seeks extended poll nomination

Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said on Wednesday it was seeking an urgent court order to nullify the deadline for the nomination of candidates for elections on 24 and 25 June.

David Coltart, legal secretary for the MDC, said the government had violated the law when it set nomination and election dates before a commission charged with marking out constituency boundaries had ended its work.

Coltart said a 29 May date set by the ruling ZANU-PF government for the Nominations Court to screen parliamentary candidates for the election did not give enough time for parties to file nomination papers.

“This is a big fiddle by ZANU-PF. The president is obliged by law to set the nomination date only after the government has published the voters’ roll and the Delimitation Commission report showing the specific constituencies. This has not been done and it will not be possible for other parties other than ZANU-PF which seems to be treating these reports to itself to compile their candidates and comply with the law,” Coltart said.

Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa told the state-owned ‘The Herald’ newspaper that the government had acted within the law and said it was possible for the president to announce nomination and election dates before the commission handed in its report provided it had indicated when it would so.

“There is no law which says we should make a proclamation before the Delimitation Commission submits its report. We shall make known the constituency boundaries before nomination day,” Mnangagwa said.