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Dabengwa challenges High Court

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OPPOSITION Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa has filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, challenging former High Court judge Justice Chinembiri Bhunu’s ruling granting the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) discretion to decide whether to use or ignore voters’ rolls compiled by the Registrar-General’s Office.

OPPOSITION Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa has filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, challenging former High Court judge Justice Chinembiri Bhunu’s ruling granting the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) discretion to decide whether to use or ignore voters’ rolls compiled by the Registrar-General’s Office.

BY CHARLES LAITON

Dumiso-Dabengwa-1

In his appeal filed under case number 418/15, Dabengwa said Justice Bhunu “erred in issuing what he termed a mandamus and yet was so general in its terms that it is vague, meaningless and unenforceable”.

A mandamus is a legal order to do an administrative action or not to take particular action.

Dabengwa said Justice Bhunu ought to have issued a clear and specific relief in line with the terms set out in his draft order, as is the practice of the courts when a mandamus is granted.

Dabengwa had previously made an application at the High Court seeking to compel Zec to craft its own voters’ rolls without relying on previous ones compiled by the Registrar-General of Voters.

The Zapu leader also wanted Zec to immediately take over from the Registrar-General’s Office duties such as registering voters, compiling its own voters’ roll, keeping and maintaining voters’ rolls and ensuring that the public had access to inspecting the voters’ rolls as provided for in terms of the Constitution.

In his judgment, Justice Bhunu said there was no law compelling Zec to compile a new voters’ register. The learned judge, however, partially granted an order sought by Dabengwa and directed Zec, to “forthwith” discharge its mandate in accordance with the available resources.

“It is accordingly ordered that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission shall forthwith discharge its constitutional and statutory functions in a way it deems best suited for the purpose and within the scope and confines of the available resources,” Justice Bhunu ruled.

But Dabengwa said Justice Bhunu erred “in qualifying the relief granted by ordering that the performance of the commission’s constitutional and statutory duties was subject to the commission’s own unilateral view of what it deemed best suited for the purpose, and within the scope and confines of the available resources”.

Regarding the costs of the suit, Justice Bhunu ruled each party had been partially successful and, therefore, there was no need to order costs, but Dabengwa argues the court ought to have granted him costs.