The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has suffered a blow after the High Court threw out its bid to remove a suspected ‘double candidate’ from the ballot.
The opposition party claimed Andrew Mutsau forged signatures to file his nomination papers for Kariba constituency. They argued Mutsau was not properly nominated by the party and his paperwork was fraudulent.
But High Court judge Joseph Mafusire struck the urgent court challenge off the roll. He said the CCC lacked legal standing to bring the case.
The judge ruled: “The nomination officer was already ‘functus officio’ – having completed their duties – when the CCC wrote requesting corrective measures.”
Mutsau’s lawyer Tinashe Zintu said his client was properly nominated and seconded by two designated party officials. He insisted: “There is no evidence of forgery. The symbol used was the same one given by the party to ZEC.”
A fuming CCC spokesperson said around 20 of their candidates may be ‘double candidates’. But with this legal defeat, it remains to be seen if they can remove any from the ballot.
It’s another blow for the opposition who were counting on court action to weed out infiltrators amid claims Zanu PF may be sponsoring ‘double candidates’ to cause confusion.
But the judges have booted their challenge out of court, leaving CCC red-faced as election day draws near.
