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Zimbabwe parliament approves $20,000 fee to appear on ballot
Zimbabwean lawmakers upheld plans to charge candidates for president $20,000 to appear on the ballot, and those running for parliament $1,000, despite a bid by the opposition to reduce the fees before a deadline next week for candidates to register.
The fees, denominated in U.S. dollars, are a 20-fold increase from fees charged in the previous elections in 2018.
During a debate on Wednesday, parliamentarians of the ruling ZANU-PF party said the policy would ensure that only strong candidates run for office. They secured parliament’s approval of the measure after the Constitutional Court ruled last week that lawmakers must debate it.
The opposition party Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) said the measure would undermine the right to stand for office, and had sought to reduce the fees in time for the 21 June registration deadline.
Zimbabwe will hold its presidential and parliamentary elections on Aug. 23, battling a raging economic crisis.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, elected in 2018 after a coup that deposed Robert Mugabe the previous year, will be seeking a second term in office. The 80-year-old’s main rival is lawyer and pastor Nelson Chamisa, 45, who leads the newly formed CCC.
(Reporting by Nyasha Chingono; Editing by Anait Miridzhanian)
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Purely designed to stop other presidential candidates. Zanu PF will use stolen USD whilst Chamisa does not have that luxury
Just another example of ZANU-PF’s use of lawfare – using the law against its opponents. In the last elections they tried to set an age limit so Chamisa would be considered “too young” to run for president. Now, having hamstrung the MDC-Alliance by removing their parliamentary funding, they are aware that the CCC is cash-strapped. ZANU-PF of course is very well resourced and knows how to win an election.