The leader of the MDC-T party and their candidate for the presidential election on August 23rd, Douglas Mwonzora has chosen to withdraw from the race.
Source reports that this decision comes as a protest against what he perceives as unjust treatment towards his party.
The politician accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and Zimbabwean courts of showing bias against his party.
He pointed out that 87 party candidates were disqualified during the nomination stage, and the courts upheld this decision, which he believes is evidence of bias against his party.
The candidates were disqualified because they failed to pay their nomination fees due to issues with local electronic bank transfers.
Zimbabwe 2023 General Election
The upcoming general elections in Zimbabwe are set to take place on August 23, 2023. These elections aim to democratically elect both the president and members of both houses of Parliament.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) approved a total of 12 candidates for the presidential race. However, one candidate, Saviour Kasukuwere, was disqualified due to not meeting the residency requirements.
Among the approved candidates, there is Emmerson Mnangagwa, representing ZANU–PF, who has been serving as the President of Zimbabwe since 2017, Nelson Chamisa, a candidate from the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), and Elisabeth Valerio, nominated by the United Zimbabwe Alliance.
Valerio joined the race for the upcoming presidential election after winning her appeal against the ZEC’s decision to reject her nomination papers.
Elisabeth Valerio’s High Court Appeal
The ZEC rejected Valerio’s nomination papers on the grounds that she missed the deadline. It was claimed that she used the RTGS payment system to settle the nomination fee, but the amount did not reflect in ZEC’s bank account in time.
This technicality led to the rejection of her candidacy. Valerio’s lawyer, Alec Muchadehama, argued that her rejection was unlawful, stating that she had complied with section 47 of the Electoral Act by paying the nomination fee.
“What section 47 simply requires is for a person to put money into the bank and with regards to the application before you (Judge), all she was required to do was to make a deposit into ZEC’s account,” Muchadehama argued.
“The section does not say there shall be a deposit or proof that there is deposited money into an account.”
Source iHarare.com
