Zimbabwe is set to host judicial officers from other African countries at the end of this month to share best practices on handling election petition cases at the Africa Electoral Justice Network (AEJN) third annual meeting.
Last year, the country dealt with over 100 election petition cases filed in court, some of which involved challenges to accepting nomination papers of some opposition candidates in the Nomination Court.
Opposition parties accused the ruling party, Zanu PF, of engaging in lawfare, particularly to delegitimise, harass, or weaken the opposition ahead of the elections.
This year’s AEJN will see judges and other individuals who resolve election disputes in courts, tribunals, and judicial election management bodies from all over the African continent coming together to share experiences and solutions to uphold the credibility of elections.
Deputy Chief Justice, Judge Elizabeth Gwaunza confirmed the conference will be held at the end of January 2024 in Victoria Falls, noting this was an important constitutional conference that the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) was hosting.
“The discussions, engagements, brainstorming and dialogue at this event will be centred on the promotion, nurturing, strengthening and consolidation of democracy through effective judicial practices in electoral matters,” said Gwaunza.
As a result of the various election petition cases that were dealt with by the courts last year, the JSC expressed concern over the inappropriate criticism of judges that occurred during that electoral season, claiming insulting and destructive remarks were made about the judiciary in general, as well as some Supreme Court and High Court judges.
Meanwhile, the JSC will also host the 7th Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Africa (CCJA), whose discussions will focus on constitutionalism and human dignity.
“This is the biggest gathering of constitutional courts in Africa, which Zimbabwe will host from 30 October to 03 November 2024 in Victoria Falls. The 7th Conference of the CCJA will run under the theme ‘Human Dignity as a Foundational Value and Principle: A Source of Constitutional Interpretation, Fundamental Human Rights Protection and Enforcement,’” said Justice Gwaunza.
The deputy chief justice said this conference will extend an opportunity to all stakeholders in the administration of justice in Zimbabwe to particularly consider human dignity as a foundational value and principle and a cornerstone of constitutionalism.
“It is at that conference that Zimbabwe will assume the chairmanship of the Conference, which is currently under the stewardship of Morocco,” she said.
Justice Gwaunza stated in the opinion of the JSC, there could not have been a better way to celebrate a decade of the existence of Zimbabwe’s current Constitution and to entrench the doctrine of constitutionalism by the Zimbabwean judiciary than to be accorded the honour of hosting these two high-level constitutional events.
“The JSC exhorts all members of the Judicial Service and the entire Judiciary to put their shoulders to the wheel and adequately prepare for the Conferences to not only to make sure that they are resounding successes but that the events are equally a source of pride for the people of Zimbabwe,” she said.
“It further calls upon the Treasury, other government agencies, the security sector and all like-minded stakeholders to join hands with the Judiciary and support the hosting of these two events.”
