The Constitution gives every Zimbabwean who is eligible to vote a right to vote, it is not an obligation under our Constitution to vote. There was no evidence therefore how many of these teachers were registered voters.
There was no evidence of the fact of this allegation. Even if it was proven that it has affected the result, there was no guarantee that every teacher would have voted for the applicant.
The allegation relating to on ghost polling stations or polling stations created at the time of voting lacked specificity and particularity and were in any case disproved by the evidence adduced for the 23rd and 25th respondents. And these are the kind of allegations that would have been easily proven by the access to the evidence in the sealed ballot boxes.
In the final analysis, the court finds that the applicant has failed to place before it clear, direct, sufficient and credible evidence that the irregularities he alleges marred the election process materially existed. In other words there was no proof of these irregularities as a matter of fact.
There would be therefore be no purpose for this court to go further and enquire into question whether such irregularities materially affected the election results. As already indicated it is an internationally accepted principle of election dispute that an election is not set aside easily merely on the basis that irregularities occurred.
There is a presumption of validity of an election. This is so also because as long as an election was conducted substantially in terms of a Constitution and governing laws it would have reflected the will of the people. It is not for the court to decide elections, it is the people. It is a duty of the courts to strive in public interest to sustain that which the people have expressed their will in.
Therefore their application ought to be dismissed.In the result, the following order is made: The application is dismissed with costs.
In terms of section 93 subsection 4 sub-paragraph (a) of the Constitution, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa is duly declared the winner of Presidential elections held on the 30th of July 2018. As indicated there will be a fully dressed judgement in due course on these issues. We have come to the end of these long proceedings.
We thank all those have who participated. As I said at the beginning, we thank the lawyers. At the end of the day, it is their submissions regardless of which side there were that has helped this court to arrive at this decision.
Lawyers are not there to win. Lawyers are officers of the court and the integrity lies in your status as a lawyer and therefore be proud to uphold those principles in which the public looks up to.
I thank the public for having shown confidence in the judiciary whatever views they take at the end of the day we are all Zimbabweans and we have a right to the law.
(860 VIEWS)
