Veteran opposition politician Egypt Dzinemunhenzva, Harare North MP, Rusty Markham (MDC Alliance), and pro-democracy activist Tapiwanashe Chiriga are challenging the nomination fees recently gazetted by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
The trio has instructed their lawyer, Obey Shava, of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) to demand that ZEC and the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs should within 72 hours withdraw the exorbitant nomination fees gazetted last week.
According to ZLHR, Shava has told ZEC and Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi that the regulations amending the nomination fees for 2023 elections are unconstitutional, unreasonable and have the effect of blocking aspiring candidates from participating in elections.
On Friday last week, ZEC gazetted Statutory Instrument (SI) 144 of 2022 (1) on candidate nomination fees which will see an aspiring presidential candidate paying US$20 000.
According to the new regulations, an aspiring member of parliament will pay a candidate fee of US$1 000 while local authority and Senate aspiring candidates will now pay a sum of US$200. ZEC said:
It is hereby notified that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, in terms of section 192 of the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13) has, with the approval of the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs made the following regulations: These regulations may be cited as the electoral (nomination of candidates) (Amendment) Regulations, 2022 (1).