Twelve members of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party have been disqualified from contesting the upcoming August parliamentary elections by a high court ruling.
The judge stated that their membership applications, submitted under the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), were received after the cut-off time of 16:00 on June 21. This was the day when nomination courts were in session to receive applications.
As a consequence of this ruling, candidates from the ruling Zanu-PF party will be elected unopposed in three seats within Bulawayo, the country’s second-largest city, which was previously considered an opposition stronghold.
The disqualifications came about after the obscure opposition party, the Elected Early Democrats (EED), challenged the nominations of the 12 candidates, arguing that the electoral body had unlawfully accepted their papers. The registration process on June 21 was fraught with chaos, leading to the rejection of numerous applications, primarily from opposition candidates, due to challenges in the payment system.
One positive outcome was United Zimbabwe Alliance’s Elisabeth Valerio successfully challenging the rejection of her papers, making her the sole woman on the presidential ballot.
In response to the high court ruling, the CCC spokesperson, Fadzayi Mahere, stated that the 12 disqualified candidates would challenge the decision.
Zimbabweans are scheduled to vote on August 23 to elect councillors, members of parliament, and a president.