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Walter Nyamukondiwa, Harare Bureau

ELECTION candidates who lose court cases should respect court decisions and prepare to battle it out in future polls instead of remaining in denial, Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda has said.

In apparent reference to opposition MDC-Alliance leader, Mr Nelson Chamisa, who contested the 2018 Presidential election outcome in the Constitutional Court and lost, Adv Mudenda said it was important to accept the result and move on.

Adv Mudenda cited the 2000 United States elections in which Democrats candidate Al Gore contested George Bush’s victory citing that there was rigging and fraud, but acceded after the Supreme Court ruled against him.

“The Constitutional Court had to come in and pronounce itself in favour of George Bush, but once the highest court had pronounced itself, Al Gore and the Democrats had to acquiesce and accede to that decision and wait for the next chance,” he said.

“That chance came which brought in President Obama. So all is not lost in one election, veduwe they would say in Shona, it’s not lost. You can be surprised in the next election or after two attempts, you will be sitting in the seat of government.”

Zimbabwe is working on electoral reforms to lay the foundation for free, fair, credible and transparent elections.

Adv Mudenda said the reform process should be completed in the next two months.

He said Parliament should work to put in place mechanisms that eliminate or reduce contests ahead of the 2023 harmonised elections.

Adv Mudenda’s sentiments were also expressed by outgoing Angolan Ambassador to Zimbabwe Pedro Hendrik Vaal Neto, who urged the MDC-Alliance to concede defeat, shun violence and work with Government in nation-building.

Ambassador Neto said losing opposition parties should not work against their country, but support the winner in nation-building.

Speaking at a recent electoral reforms workshop in Kariba, elections and governance consultant Dr Victor Shale said in other countries, a code of conduct is embedded in the electoral law.

He said if any political party refuses to publicly endorse and sign that they are going to adhere to the election code of conduct, the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa is legally entitled to deregister them and bar them from competing in the elections.

“It’s non-negotiable. Another frustration which I have in Zimbabwe is that there are certain things which should be non-negotiable, transcending the party political interests which we say these are the thresholds for anybody wishing to be in this space for this Republic to proceed,” said Dr Shale.

Mr Chamisa lost by around 300 000 votes but is refusing to accept the defeat.