The opposition United Zimbabwe Alliance (UZA) party has welcomed a ruling by the Electoral Court instructing the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to take the necessary steps to ensure that its leader, Elisabeth Valerio, is added to the ballot.
In a statement released this Thursday, 20 July, UZA national spokesperson Elvis Dzvene said from the onset, they were convinced that justice would prevail. He said:
Our party recognizes the ruling as a crucial milestone in promoting a democratic and inclusive electoral process. We welcome the court’s ruling appreciating that justice has been served.
It was not right for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to reject our party leader’s nomination papers as there was no legal basis for this.
The June 21st decision of the elections body was incorrect considering that President Valerio availed all the relevant documentation to indicate that payment had been effected on time.
While UZA welcomes the ruling, we are equally unhappy about the time that we have spent in the courts challenging the unfair and unjust rejection of our nomination by ZEC. Our campaign has already begun, however, not having our President on the ballot was a setback.
It is important to note that we remained optimistic that justice would be served. We have not been deterred by the difficulties and our candidates nationally are on the ground spreading the UZA ideology to the electorate.
Dzvene called for peace in the run-up to the elections to ensure that voters cast their ballots in an environment free from intimation.
Valerio became the only female presidential candidate nominated for the 2023 elections and her name will now be added to the list of presidential candidates.
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