Press Statement
01 October, 2002
MDC Argues For Presidential Voters’ Roll
Zimbabwe's official opposition today argued before the Supreme Court in Harare for an order that it be given copies on compact disc of the voters' roll used in the March presidential elections.
The appeal is the precursor to a major court challenge later this year to the election result which declared President Mugabe the winner by 1681212 to 1262403 votes over the MDC's leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.
In its main election petition before the High Court, the MDC has alleged that Zimbabwe's ruling party, ZANU-PF, rigged the result through ballot-stuffing, the abduction of polling agents, violence and intimidation and other election abuses.
In the High Court judgment against which the MDC. Tsvangirai and party official Nomore Sibanda have appealed, the MDC bid for access to the roll was dismissed on the basis that the Electoral Act was enacted in 1980 - before computers were in use in Zimbabwe – and that accordingly "copies" could only mean printed and not electronic copies.
The MDC's legal team in the Supreme Court was led today by Jeremy Gauntlett SC and Pearson Nherere. Gauntlett is a former leader of the South African Bar, council member of the International Bar Association and serves on the international steering committee for the International Criminal Court.
Gauntlett argued that the High Court ruling was clearly wrong for at least three reasons. Firstly, it ignored the fact that the Registrar had previously been ordered by the court to provide the roll on compact disc, and the Registrar could not now renege on this order.
Secondly, "copy" under the Electoral Act clearly meant any form of the copy, just as "writing" in old laws includes typewriting.
It was moreover common cause that Zimbabwe's roll was kept in electronic form, and could easily be copied on discs (as had been done in terms of the previous court order).
If it was not made available on disc, the task of analysing a voters' roll covering an estimated 5.4 million voters and 120 constituencies would, as the Government well knew, be close to impossible.
Thirdly, it was argued that the Registrar on the evidence had been evasive, obstructive and was patently in bad faith. This had been alleged in the High Court papers and not even denied. Since the High Court ruling he had even refused to provide a copy of the roll in printed form.
The hearing was attended by a number of diplomatic observers, and an official observer of the General Council of the Bar of South Africa, the Namibian Bar Council, the Australian Bar Association, the General Council of the Bar of England and Wales and the Faculty of Advocates of Scotland, Gerald Friedman. He is former South African Judge of Appeal and Judge President, who has also served as a Judge of Appeal of Botswana and Lesotho.
David Coltart
MDC Secretary for Legal Affairs
MDC Information Department
2nd Floor, Harvest House, Nelson Mandela/Angwa
Cell: 091 248 570/091 389 444 Fax: 781 040
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