In a significant turn of events, Zimbabwe’s Electoral Court has ruled against the candidacy of a former minister and senior official of the ruling party in next month’s election. Savior Kasukuwere, who fled Zimbabwe following the 2017 overthrow of ex-President Robert Mugabe, was deemed ineligible by the court due to his prolonged absence from the country.
Lovedale Mangwana, a ZANU-PF member, filed a petition with the court to exclude Kasukuwere from the ballot, arguing he had not met the constitutional requirement of residing in Zimbabwe for at least 18 months prior to the general election set for 23 August 2023.
The ZANU-PF legal representative in the case, Lewis Uriri, expressed satisfaction over Kasukuwere’s disqualification, stating, “And additionally, [the court] interdicted him from holding himself out as a candidate in the upcoming elections whether physically or by any form of media whatsoever. And the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has been interdicted from having his name on the ballot paper for the 23rd of August 2023.”
Despite this setback, Kasukuwere’s legal team, represented by Jaqueline Sande, announced their intent to appeal the ruling. Sande criticised the judgement, arguing that it included provisions that had not been explicitly requested by the applicant.
“We are going to fight to the bitter end until we are given the right to participate in these elections. We think the judgement itself is flawed,” Sande said.
Had he been permitted to run, Kasukuwere would have been in contention with ten other candidates, including incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who narrowly defeated the main opposition’s Nelson Chamisa by fewer than 400,000 votes in the 2018 election.
Alexander Rusero, a politics professor at Africa University in Zimbabwe, expressed concern over the implications of the ruling, stating: “It is very unfortunate because the real electoral balance of forces were actually with Savior Kasukuwere. So, it is actually a sad day in as much as the independence of the courts are concerned, in as much as electoral democracy in Zimbabwe is concerned.”
This is not the first controversy in Zimbabwe’s election history, with previous polls marred by allegations of violence against the opposition and disputed results. The decision to bar Kasukuwere from standing has cast further uncertainty over the electoral landscape in Zimbabwe.
Image Credit: REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo/File photo
