SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has changed its mind about recounting the ballots in Mudzi South, on the basis that such a move would be “illegal.” The electoral body had announced on Sunday that it would hold a recount after it was petitioned by the losing ZANU PF candidate Eric Navaya, who lost to prominent lawyer Jonathan Samukange, who stood as an independent. The ZANU PF candidate said his party’s election agents were not present during the vote-counting process. This was just one of the reasons why he wanted a recount. But Samukange challenged the move because it would be a violation of the Electoral Act, which forbids ‘tampering’ with ballot papers without a court order. He also threatened to seek an interdict from the Electoral Court if ZEC did not reverse its decision. Meanwhile, a recount was still expected to get underway on Tuesday to determine the ultimate winner of Tsholotsho North. ZANU PF’s former information minister, Jonathan Moyo, lost the Tsholotsho North seat to the MDC-T’s Rosemary Sipepa-Nkomo. According to the initial count, Sipepa-Nkomo won with 4,874 votes against 4,646. He also petitioned ZEC for a recount, citing “irregularities”. To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter↧