Mugabe Forced to Postpone Nominations

Authoritative sources told ZimOnline last night that the Nomination Court
initially scheduled to sit on February 8 to receive names of candidates for
the local government, parliamentary and presidential elections could now be
shifted to the 15 of this month.According to our sources Mugabe, yesterday morning instructed Justice
Minister Patrick Chinamasa to draft a fresh statutory instrument giving
effect to the new development.”The statutory instrument is set to be published today, or at the very
latest on Thursday,” said one of our sources, a top government official who
we cannot name for legal reasons.ZimOnline was last night unable to get immediate comment on the matter from
Chinamasa or Mugabe’s spokesman, George Charamba.ZANU PF politburo member, Makoni, on Tuesday announced he would stand
against Mugabe in next month’s election, in the biggest rebellion against
the Zimbabwean leader in decades.Hinting at more upheavals in ZANU PF, Makoni said he was working with
like-minded people from the party whose names he would disclose at a more
opportune time.Makoni, who commands considerable respect among the political divide, has
for long been rumoured to be working with powerful former army general
Solomon Mujuru, the husband of Mugabe’s second deputy, Joice Mujuru.A former minister of finance, Makoni is also said to enjoy the support
several senior ZANU PF leaders who feel Mugabe should step down and allow a
new leader to take over.Our sources said Mugabe wanted to use the time between now and the sitting
of the Nomination Court to screen out Makoni’s suspected backers.”He wants to vet who goes into Parliament because Makoni’s group could end
up having an upper-hand in Parliament even if it lost the presidential
election,” added another source.”He wants to block attempts to influence ongoing party primary elections to
smuggle Makoni’s people onto the list of ZANU PF parliamentary candidates.”The nomination date was already being challenged in court by independent
legislator Jonathan Moyo who wanted the exercise stopped allegedly because
Mugabe did not follow the law when he set the date.Moyo, who lodged a joint court appeal together with former legislator
Margaret Dongo, claims Mugabe violated the law when he set the date of
nomination before publication in the government gazette of the final
delimitation report showing names and boundaries of voting constituencies.Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe with an iron-like grip since independence in 1980,
brooking no challenge within his own party and from without.

He appeared to effectively smother internal resistance to his continued stay
in power when he got ZANU PF to endorse him as candidate for president last
December – until Makoni’s open rebellion on Tuesday.

Zimbabwe is in the grip of an acute economic recession critics blame on
mismanagement by Mugabe and seen in the world’s highest inflation rate of
more than 26 000 percent, 80 percent unemployment and shortages of food,
fuel and foreign currency.

Mugabe, who routinely organises rallies and public marches by supporters to
showcase his popularity, denies ruining the country and has promised a
landslide victory in March to once again prove he has the backing of
ordinary Zimbabweans.