Lovemore Madhuku's NCA Sues Zec Over Voters' Roll

The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) led by Professor Lovemore Madhuku yesterday made an urgent application before the High Court. The NCA wanted the High Court to issue an order compelling the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to release the voter’s roll before the sitting of the Nomination Court. However, the matter was overtaken by events as the Nomination Court was able to sit before the matter had been set down for hearing.

Part of the NCA’s application says

Zec’s conduct in failing to avail copies of the voters’ roll contravenes section 21(4) of the Electoral Act, section 155(2) of the Constitution and section 67(3)(b) of the Constitution, which among others entitles the NCA to have all material and information necessary for the opposition political party to participate in elections…Having access to the voters’ roll, enhances effective participation in the elections in that it ensures that our members are able to comply with the formalities spelt out for purposes of nomination of candidates.

In a related matter, High Court judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi ordered ZEC to release the provisional voters roll to the independent electoral watchdog, the Electoral Resource Centre (ERC).

More: NewsDay