HARARE – The embattled MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has escalated his bid to overturn his electoral defeat to the African Commission for Human and People’s Rights (ACPR) after the Constitutional Court Friday tossed out his poll challenge for lack of evidence.
Chamisa had filed papers with the country’s apex court challenging President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s narrow victory while claiming massive poll fraud.
But his efforts came to naught when ConCourt said he did not have sufficient evidence other than his scholarly analysis on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s figures to force the annulment of Mnangagwa’s victory.
He claims the country’s courts had inherent biases towards the incumbent.
The opposition chief has told the media on different occasions he was prepared to exhaust both legal and political remedies to his defeat.
Chamisa has moved to petition the ACPR arguing the rights of Zimbabweans to a legitimate government were violated.
“The MDC Alliance has instructed its local and international lawyers to immediately lodge a petition with the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (the ACPR) otherwise known as the Banjul Commission to challenge the 24 August Constitutional Court (ConCourt) decision controversial validating Zec’s decision that Mnangagwa won the July 30 2018 harmonised general elections,” reads the petition in part.
According to the petition, the ConCourt and the government are guilty of violating the rights of citizens.
“The grounds of the petition are based on the flagrant and multiple violations of the universal human rights of the voters and people of Zimbabwe by the current Zimbabwean regime and the ConCourt including the right to free and fair elections, right to a fair hearing before an impartial court, right to legal representation by counsel of choice, right against undue political interference and the right to be governed by a legitimate government,” said Chamisa.
He added that the ACPR has power to declare human rights violations and use that to overturn Mnangagwa’s victory in his favour.
