Parliament has been torn apart after its Legal Committee issued a non-adverse report, effectively endorsing the exorbitant nomination fees set by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission for candidates wishing to participate in the August 23 presidential, parliamentary and council polls.
Zanu PF Members of Parliament sided with the Legal Committee, while the opposition composed mainly of Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) legislators reacted angrily to the committee’s conclusion.
The nomination court sits at various centers across the country next Wednesday.
Opposition CCC legislators yesterday reacted angrily to the report released two days ago saying its release violated parliamentary procedure and favoured Zanu PF.
The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) recently ordered Parliament to review the fees gazetted in Statutory Instrument (SI) 144 of 2022, which drastically increased the nomination fees for candidates seeking to run for public office in the August 23 elections.
The ConCourt bench, led by Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza, ruled that Parliament had breached the Constitution by not considering whether the SI was in contravention of the supreme law or not before passing it and ordered Parliament to have reviewed the SI by today.
The ruling came after leader of the Nationalists Alliance Party, Devine Mhambi Hove, filed an application at the court arguing that Parliament had failed to fulfill its constitutional obligation to consider whether or not the SI was in contravention of the Constitution.
However, the Parliamentary Legal Committee issued a non-adverse report on the SI, thereby endorsing the nomination fees for presidential and parliamentary candidates at US$20 000 and US$1 000, respectively.
Source Newsday