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The stage is now set for the harmonised elections after the Constitutional Court on Thursday upheld 31 July as the election date. The highest court in the land threw out five different applications which sought the postponement of the polls to different dates next month. The court upheld the proclamation made by President Mugabe on 13 June which was being challenged by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and MDC leader Professor Welshman Ncube.

Applications by PM Tsvangirai, Justice and legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Prof Ncube,  Bulawayo-based woman Ms Mariah Phiri and Mr Nixon Nyikadzino were all dismissed. The Constitutional Court ruling is what all right-minded Zimbabweans were expecting given that the processes leading to elections had already started.

Last Friday the Nomination Court accepted names of Presidential, Parliamentary and council election candidates. President Mugabe, PM Tsvangirai, Prof Ncube, Zapu leader Dr Dumiso Dabengwa and the leaders of ZDP Kisinot Mkwazhe successfully filed their papers to contest for presidency. Hundreds other candidates filed papers to contest the parliamentary and council elections. The candidates that filed the papers are from several political parties though it was the major political parties Zanu-PF, MDC-T and MDC that fielded candidates in almost all the constituencies.

The fact that political parties filed papers to contest the elections is a confirmation that they are ready for the plebiscite. The filing of nomination papers by PM Tsvangirai and Prof Ncube who are contesting the presidency and their party candidates that are contesting the parliamentary and council election rendered the Constitutional Court hearing on Thursday a non-event. The Court in fact confirmed the obvious that the poll date cannot be changed given the electoral processes already covered.

It is a fact that any other decision by the highest court in the land could have put the electoral process into disarray. Now that a decision has been taken and is certain the elections will be held on 31 July, the challenge is to ensure the elections are credible. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), which we want to believe is geared for the harmonised elections, should move with speed to ensure all that is required for the elections is in place. Zec has less than a month to prepare for these three in one elections.

The Government on its part should make available the required funding for the elections. It is clear that the country is unlikely to receive external assistance in funding the elections so it has to mobilise the required funding from within. Treasury should have been mobilising the required funding given the fact that it was aware that the elections were due this year though the political parties were disagreeing on the actual poll dates.

We have said it before that national programmes such as elections should be funded from our own resources as opposed to seeking external funding which obviously comes with conditions. There is therefore urgent need for the Government to avail resources for the elections as soon as possible so that Zec is not found wanting when it comes to running the elections.

We want to believe that by now Zec has been provided with tools of the job such as vehicles, computers and other such equipment to enable them to execute their mandate of running these crucial elections.

It is a fact that the world’s focus is on Zimbabwe given the interest the pending elections have generated. Zimbabwe needs to silence once and for all its detractors who doubt its capacity to run credible elections.

The appeal to political parties is to campaign peacefully. The people should be afforded their right to elect people of their choice without being coerced. The political parties whose policies and programmes appeal to the electorate will obviously be voted into office.