The
allegation that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission designed a
Presidential election ballot paper with the aim of affording the
first respondent an advantage, in respect to votes, over other
candidates had no legal or factual basis. It ought not to have been
made because the same allegation had been the subject of litigation
in the Electoral ...
The
allegation that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission designed a
Presidential election ballot paper with the aim of affording the
first respondent an advantage, in respect to votes, over other
candidates had no legal or factual basis. It ought not to have been
made because the same allegation had been the subject of litigation
in the Electoral Court.
In
People's Democratic Party v Chairperson of ZEC and Anor EC09/18,
the design of the Presidential election ballot paper had been
challenged on the same grounds on which the applicant's allegation
is based. The Electoral Court found that the Presidential election
ballot paper, as designed by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, was
in compliance with the law.
There
was no appeal against the decision of the Electoral Court….,.
The
design of the Presidential election ballot paper, having been found
by the Electoral Court to be in accordance with the law, it could not
give rise to a bona fide allegation of bias against the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission.
A
ballot paper designed in accordance with the law cannot be said to
give an unfair advantage in respect of voters to one candidate over
another.
