Harare: Zimbabwe’s electoral chief has said there is virtually nothing that opposition parties can do to stop the holding of the July 30 elections over their concerns the electoral field favours the ruling Zanu PF party.
Opposition parties are threatening to boycott the upcoming harmonised polls if the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) does not implement a raft of electoral reforms to guarantee a credible election.
ZEC chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba however said nothing will stop the holding of the July 30 elections, arguing “that is the law”.
“Nothing stops the election; if there are any anomalies in that voters roll. Candidates can possibly challenge the outcome of the election but whatever legal recourse is at hand cannot stop the election,” Chigumba told journalists.
“Nothing can stop the election after the proclamation of the election date. What candidates can do for whatever reason and whatever their opinions and views are, is to use anything that they come up with to challenge any outcome of the election.”
It is a first since the country’s independence in 1980 that long-time ruler Robert Mugabe’s face will not be on the ballot paper. Mugabe was forced out of office in November last year following a military coup.
Twenty-two opposition presidential aspirants have filed papers to challenge President Emmerson Mnangagwa – a first since independence to have over a dozen candidates vying for the country’s top post.
