ZEC defies High Court order - vows to proceed with vote recount 14/04/2008 12:49 Peter Chikondi & Simbarashe Chikanza

Despite a High Court order reported in many publication houses on Sunday, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has vowed that it will proceed with the recount of votes.

Mr Mr Utoile Silaigwana, ZEC's chief elections officer was quoted  by the state run Herald on Monday saying

"I have not seen the order barring us from conducting the recounts, so the process would proceed as advised,"

Many publications on Sunday reported that the High Court had issued an order barring the recounts. But on the same day in notices published yesterday, ZEC announced vote recounts in 23 constituencies, saying:

"There are reasonable grounds for believing that the votes were miscounted, and that the miscount would affect the result of this election."

The commission called for a recount of votes cast in the presidential election in terms of Section 61 (4) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe as read with Section 67A (4) of the Electoral Act.

It also said the recount of votes cast for the House of Assembly, Senate and local authorities elections would be done in terms of Section 67A of the Electoral Act.

"ZEC has taken, by this notice, all necessary steps to inform accredited observers and all political parties and candidates that contested in this election, of this decision, and the date, time and place of recount, by sending copies of this notice to the respective parties’ head offices."

Parties represented at the recount would, in the presence of the constituency election officer, relate to the documents dealt with by the officer to satisfy themselves with their (officers) adherence to provisions of the electoral laws.

The parties would then "count the votes cast, with strict adherence to the procedure that was followed, in respect of material used at the election, including returns that were made at the time of the initial count and kept at the constituency centre as provided by the Act".

"The respective constituency election officers shall then act in terms of Section 67 of the Electoral Act, to transmit without delay, by telegraph, tele-facsimile or electronic mail, in the prescribed form, to the chief elections officer, the names of the persons declared duly elected, the day effective from which he or she was declared elected, the number of votes received by the respective candidates, the number of rejected ballot papers, in respect of the recount."

Once the procedures have been followed, the results of the House of Assembly and Senate constituencies would then be transmitted to the Clerk of Parliament.

"In respect of the presidential poll, the constituency election officer and the chief elections officer shall, after the recount, act in respect of votes received by each candidate at the recount, in terms of the Second Schedule to the Electoral Act," ZEC said.

Recounts will be conducted in Chimanimani West, Mutare West, Bikita West, Bikita South, Bulilima East, Zhombe, Zaka West, Zvimba North, Silobela, Chiredzi North, Gokwe-Kabuyuni and Buhera South. Other constituencies, including Lupane East, Mberengwa East, West, North and South, Masvingo Central and West, Gutu South, North and Central and Goromonzi West would also conduct recounts.

The recount comes after Zanu-PF purportedly unearthed anomalies in the way V11 and V23 forms were completed by ZEC officers, some of whom have since appeared in court charged with electoral fraud.