The notice was signed by the Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Eric Matinenga, in accordance with the Referendums Act, Chapter 2:10, and published in Statutory Instrument 26/2013.
The notice came with a schedule showing that 3,079, 966 people endorsed the draft constitution, 179,489 voted "no' while there were 56,627 spoilt ballots.
Meanwhile, according to Veritas, a not-for-profit institution that provides parliamentary oversight, President Robert Mugabe has filed an urgent application in the High Court seeking to be excused from proclaiming dates for three by-elections in Matabeleland by end of the month.
On 2 October last year, Justice George Chiweshe ordered that the by-elections be held by 31 March 2013.
The presidential application will be heard tomorrow (28 March) at 10am at the High Court in Harare.
The President, represented by Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, is arguing that, following the "yes" vote, the situation has changed since a new constitution is likely to be adopted after 7 May when Parliament resumes after which dates for general elections would be immediately gazetted.
This would make the by-elections unnecessary.
Chinamasa has insisted that elections would be held by 29 June this year, but according to Veritas, "there is no law that says elections must be held" by that date.
The principals to the Global Political Agreement on 25 March agreed that ministers Matinenga and Chinamasa should plan a timeline for the general elections.
Post published in: News
Thank you Prime Minister Tsvangirai
The court application by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai challenging President Robert Mugabe’s plan to hold elections for a substantive government before June 29 this year must have been a huge blow to Zanu PF’s rigging strategy, prompting the party, through its unofficial spokesperson, Jonathan Moyo, to once again spew his usual vitriolic diatribe against Morgan Tsvangirai. Had the Prime Minister not intervened, chances are that Mugabe would have been able to announce a date for the harmonized national elections to suit his rigging agenda.
Mugabe is well aware that his party is on the ropes, and will not win a free and fair election come rain or thunder. His plan was therefore to announce a date for elections to be held by June as his prophets of doom have all along been calling for, and then as usual, dilly dally on the implementation of reforms that are necessary before an election can be called. Once he is allowed to announce an election date unopposed, it will be an uphill struggle to change the dates, and even if forces opposed to Zanu PF were to manage to force a change of date, it will be at huge cost to the tax payers.
A big thank you to Prime Minister Tsvangirai for keeping an eye on the ball. Zimbabweans expect more of the same from you until dictator Mugabe is replaced in the forthcoming elections. I hope all the progressive forces opposed to Zanu PF dictatorship will rally behind our Prime Minister in ensuring that his application prevails, and Mugabe is forced to comply with the courts which ordered Mugabe to announce a poll date for the by-elections for Nkayi South, Bulilima and Lupane East.
Tsvangirai’s challenge is also a victory in that it thwarts President Mugabe’s intention to unilaterally announce a date for elections before reforms are made, and will be reminded on the need to consult with the other parties in the Government of National Unity so that an agreed election date is set for the elections. It gives SADC the opportunity to raise their voices, because if the Prime Minister had let go, SADC would then have said they are not the ones to set dates for Zimbabwean elections, and by allowing Mugabe to declare a date through a court application unchallenged, Zimbabweans were happy with it.
I recall listening to Prime Minister Tsvangirai addressing a rally sometime back, where he used a Shona expression “tamba tamba chidembo muswe ndakabata (try your dirty tricks on me, but you will not succeed)”, and this seems to be what is happening.
Thank you Save (Prime Minister Tsvangirai) for taking the bull by the horns. It is my hope that you will get the support you need through this process from all right minded Zimbabweans.