Bulawayo nominations extended by 2 hours

By Tererai Karimakwenda
15 February, 2008

Reports from the Bulawayo Nominations Court indicate that the processing of applications was still taking place after 5:00 P.M. Our Bulawayo contact Zenzele said officials from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), resorted to using gas lights as it became dark. There was no electricity in the courtroom that served as registration headquarters for Matabeleland province.

Zenzele said the day was peaceful but the process was slow. Originally the courts were scheduled to close at 4:00 pm but the deadline was extended by 2 hours by order of a High Court judge, after a lawyer for Eddie Cross of the Tsvangirai MDC filed papers seeking an extension.

Cross is a parliamentary candidate for Bulawayo South. He had earlier submitted his documents but was disqualified from entering the parliamentary race for reasons that were not made public. His lawyer Job Sibanda quickly approached the High Court in Bulawayo, which ordered that the registration deadline be extended from 4 - 6 p.m.
The final list will show whether his application was successful.

Our contact also reported that many candidates who lost in the primaries for both the ruling party and the opposition, registered as independents. Several lawyers were also seeking to enter the political arena. Job Sibanda, who represented Eddie Cross at the High Court, registered himself as an MDC candidate for Mpopoma.

Zenzele said in some Matabeleland constituencies there was confusion when two candidates from the same party showed up to register. This reportedly happened for both ZANU-PF and the MDC. It is not clear how ZEC officials decided which candidate was the official representative.

It appears the harmonised elections will present a logistical nightmare for the Electoral Commission. ZEC officials will have to count the votes in 3 separate categories. If Friday’s registration of candidates was any example to go by, it might be days after March 29th before Zimbabweans find out who is their President, member of parliament or local councillor.