Maravi

ZEC receives MDC's letter of withdrawal

ZEC receives MDC's letter of withdrawal
By Kingsley Kaswende in Harare
Thursday June 26, 2008 [04:00]

THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) yesterday acknowledged receipt of the MDC's letter of withdrawal from the presidential runoff election. "We have received a letter from MDC, but I cannot disclose the contents because the commission has to meet first," ZEC chairperson justice George Chiweshe said.

According to the letter written by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai to justice Chiweshe and obtained by The Post, the conditions presently obtaining throughout the country made it virtually impossible for a proper election envisaged in both the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the electoral Act to take place.

"This being the case, the election scheduled for Friday 27th June, 2008 cannot be an election as provided for by our law and accordingly, it will be a nullity if it were to be proceeded with," Tsvangirai stated.

He stated that the 21-day notice provided for in the electoral Act did not apply to a Presidential runoff election, allaying concerns that he had filed his withdrawal late.

"Section 110 (3) provides that where two or more candidates for president are nominated, and after a poll taken in terms of subsection (2) no candidate receives a majority of the total number of valid votes cast, a second election shall be held within 21 days after the previous election.

It is quite clear therefore that Section 107 (1) was clearly not designed for a presidential run-off election as it would not make sense to expect a candidate from a presidential run-off election to give 21 days notice of his/her withdrawal where such election has to be held within 21 days anyway," the letter reads.

Tsvangirai stated that there had been no rules prescribed for the conduct of a presidential runoff election and in particular the notice period set for the withdrawal of candidature by a participant.

Accordingly, he stated, any candidate wishing to withdraw his candidature is free to do so at any time before such an election.

He added that ZEC had failed to discharge its mandate in the electoral Act to ensure free and fair elections.

"...Your Commission has failed to stop and/or condemn continued utterances by senior Zanu-PF officials including Mr Robert Mugabe to the effect that irrespective of the election result, Mr Robert Mugabe was not going to move out of his office.

The failure by your Commission to condemn such utterances right from the beginning clearly encouraged Zanu-PF, war veterans aligned to Zanu-PF, senior Zanu PF officials and Mr Robert Mugabe to make it their theme during their campaigns that a President does not come to power through the electoral process but rather through the barrel of the gun.

This theme which has become pervasive throughout the Zanu-PF campaigns makes people wonder whether we are in an election or in a war," stated Tsvangirai.

"Your commission failed to abide by the provision of the electoral Act when it failed to conduct the presidential run-off election within 21 days from the date of announcement of the presidential elections results conducted on the 29th March, 2008."

Labels: ELECTIONS, MDC, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, ZEC

posted by MrK @ 4:33 AM