HARARE- Professor Lovemore Madhuku, leader of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), said on Monday that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) does not have the power to raise election candidate nomination fees.
Madhuku, a constitutional law expert, told reporters at a news conference in Harare that the decision to raise the nomination fee, charged in US dollars, was ridiculous, unacceptable and unconstitutional.
“I have a right to stand as a presidential candidate, and I don’t want to negotiate that, no one is supposed to approve. It has no powers to be involved in making such fundamental decisions regarding who stands and who doesn’t stand as a candidate,” Madhuku said.
“The Constitution says every Zimbabwean is entitled to vote and hold public office. That in itself is a constitutional right exercisable by any Zimbabwean.
“But imagine that we have to put a monetary requirement meaning that there is a misunderstanding of what these nomination processes are for. Nomination fees are nominal,” he added.
Last Friday, ZEC released nomination fees through Statutory Instrument 143 of 2022, under which potential presidential candidates will pay $20,000 in nomination fees instead of $1,000.
Legislators will now pay $1,000 in nomination fees instead of $500 and councillors will pay an additional $200 instead of $100 (all charged fees will be in US$).
Madhuku, a member of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s dialogue platform POLAD said it was only easy for dominant parties like Zanu PF to pay the fees, while smaller parties will face struggles.
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