Story by Yolanda Moyo
THE high court has nullified the nomination of 12 Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) National Assembly candidates in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province after they filed their papers after the deadline.
There is no joy for 12 CCC candidates in Bulawayo after the High Court ruled in favour of a private citizen who filed a court application challenging the nomination of the prospective candidates after they filed their papers after the closure of the nomination court on the 21st of June.
Justice Bongani Ndlovu’s ruling laid down by Justice Nokuthula Moyo this Thursday barred the 12 CCC candidates from contesting the 23 August general elections.
Giving judgement, Justice Nokuthula Moyo said, “It is declared that the decision of the first respondent sitting as a nomination court at Bulawayo to accept the following respondent’s nominations and candidates in the elections scheduled to be conducted on 23 August 2023 was in contravention of section 46/(7) and 8 of the Electoral act (chapter 2:13). Secondly that the decision of the first respondent sitting as a nomination court at Bulawayo on 21 and or 22 June 2023 to accept the following respondent’s nomination papers and candidature in the elections scheduled to be conducted on 23 August 2023 is declared null and void and is hereby set aside. The first respondent is prohibited from including the names of the following respondents in the preparation of ballot papers to be used in the general elections scheduled to be conducted on 23 August 2023.”
While CCC prospective legislators and their legal counsel were not reachable for comment, a political analyst, Mr Methuseli Moyo says the judgment is a true reflection of the confusion in the opposition party.
“CCC has constantly shown that it is not organised and this judgment is not supposed to be a surprise, we saw this coming. The party has no structures, it has no constitution and this is not surprising that there was a court appeal. This should be a lesson to other political parties that there is a need to be organised and have structures because, on the day of nomination court, all this could have been avoided,” he said.
This comes a day after the High Court dismissed an appeal filed by the CCC against some candidates whom it claims forged signatures to be nominated on the party ticket.
