LAWYER Thabani Mpofu says he is not deterred by Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec)’s refusal to condemn army commander, Lieutenant General Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe, who recently vowed to subvert the Constitution to keep Zanu PF in power.
Speaking at a Zanu PF inter-district meeting in Nyanga Sanyatwe early this month said they would resort to command voting for the ruling party to rule forever “whether you like it or not.”
Section 208 of the Constitution expressly prohibits the security services from acting in a partisan manner.
In a letter to Zec chairperson Priscilla Chigumba, Mpofu demanded that the electoral body publicly dissociates itself from the military boss’s assertion, and assure the public that it is not complicit with plans to undermine the Constitution.
Mpofu said Zec’s silence over Sanyatwe’s comments jeopardises the integrity of the country’s electoral processes before requesting the commission to publicly state its position over the utterances.
However, Zec said it had no jurisdiction to condemn Sanyatwe’s statement, adding that the investigation and prosecution of electoral offences were the responsibility of the police and the National Prosecuting Authority.
“While the obligation to implement provisions of the Electoral Act is that of the commission, the investigation and prosecution of electoral offences created by the law does not fall within its remit,” chief elections officer Utloile Silaigwana said in a letter
The investigative functions are constitutionally allocated to the Zimbabwe Republic Police while the power to institute criminal procedures lies with the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe.
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“The commission feels that it cannot condemn an alleged act of electoral malpractice pending proper investigation and conviction using the procedures prescribed by law.”
However when contacted for comment by NewsDay yesterday, Mpofu said he was very delighted with Zec’s response.
“I’m happy with this response and will put it to good use.”
