Zimpapers Logo

accordance with the provisions of the new Constitution. The nomination court is sitting on Friday to receive names of aspiring candidates.  Nomination papers for presidential candidates are supposed to be signed by not less than 10 nominators who are registered voters in their respective provinces, while all aspiring councillors should have police and council rates clearances.

Speaking during a consultative meeting with political parties in Harare yesterday, Zec commissioner Professor Geoff Feltoe said nomination forms set out all the requirements and guidelines for prospective candidates.

“There is one additional thing you need to look out for the National Assembly constituency and that is the law now specifies that you must provide two signed copies of the electoral code of conduct that must accompany your nomination form,” he said.

“The nomination court will have available the copies of the code of conduct to satisfy the legal requirements that exist.”

Prof Feltoe said civil servants who wanted to stand in local authorities should get second clearance from permanent secretaries in their parent ministries and the concurrence of the Public Service Commission.

He said application fees for presidential candidates were US$500, US$10 for the National Assembly while local authorities’ entrance was for free. Zec chairperson Justice Rita Makarau said there were additional requirements for all aspiring councillors.

“Councillors need additional requirements,” she said.

“For you to be nominated as a councillor you must satisfy certain requirements. Your rates must be paid up in that local authority. “You need the police to have cleared you that you have not committed any electoral offence.

“If you do not have that police clearance and that clearance from the local authority your papers will not be in order no matter how upright a person you are and the nomination court will chuck you out.”

Justice Makarau said there were two phases to nomination which include the pre-nomination phase where political parties file their papers for scrutiny by Zec before the nomination day.

Justice Makarau said the pre-nomination procedure came with a number of advantages. “The first advantage is that you can appoint an additional roving political agent,” she said.

“This is a person who can go anywhere and can look at any processes and they supersede and go above your ordinary agents.

“You can only get that person if you have complied with the law. If you have given us those details, the law calls you a qualifying party and in the event that anyone of your nominated candidates for National Assembly withdraws or dies before nomination you are allowed to substitute that candidate.”

In this regard, if ballot papers had already been printed, they would be reprinted with the name of the new candidate.

Justice Makarau said to qualify for the pre-nomination phase, political parties should file three names of national party office bearers and three provincial office bearers before submitting papers to Zec. She said the names should also be accompanied by specimen signatures.

Justice Makarau said the deadline for submitting pre-nomination phase was 4pm today. If candidates do not want to follow the pre-nomination procedure, they can submit their papers on the nomination date, but they should ensure that they are correct.

Justice Makarau said more than 200 000 new voters registered during the first 14 days of the mandatory 30-day voter registration period that started on June 10.

“Since the last 14 days, 273 319 new voters have been captured,” she said.

“This is in addition to 204 000 new voters who have been registered during the last exercise. We are approaching half a million since the two exercises began.

“We at Zec believe that we have captured the bulk of those requiring registration, taking into account the dwindling numbers that are appearing at the registration centres and the shortening queues especially in rural areas.”

Justice Makarau said 1 534 registration centres had been established, while 1 418 more centres would be opened during the remaining period to mop-up the remaining unregistered voters.

She said Zec had also started accreditation of observers and a few organisations had already been registered.