HARARE —
Attorney General Johannes Tomana on Thursday furnished the court with the exact number of police officers in Zimbabwe after he was directed to do so by a Harare High Court judge Wednesday following complaints by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai that the number of officers that applied to vote early was inflated.
Documents presented by MDC-T deputy chairman Morgan Komichi’s lawyers in court obtained from the finance ministry show that the country has a force of not more than 44,000.
But police chief Augustine Chihuri applied for 70,000 forms of which only a 1,000 were not returned to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
Attorney Lewis Uriri, representing Komichi, told reporters that the number of officers in the country will not be made public.
The MDC-T says it thinks inflating the number of police officers who voted in the special vote conducted this week was one of the many ways that Zanu PF intended to use to rig the July 31 polls.
Judge president George Chiweshe reserved his ruling to Friday.
Meanwhile, President Robert Mugabe told his party’s supporters in Chinhoyi Thursday that the MDC should not concentrate on looking for problems in the electoral process but should just subject itself to elections saying power is derived from polls and not the courts.
Mr. Mugabe said he will not accept the foreign election observers from countries in the European Union because the bloc is still maintaining sanctions on him and other senior Zanu PF officials.
His wife, Grace, encouraged her party’s supporters, especially the youth, to desist from violence as the country gears for this year’s crucial elections.
Politically-motivated violence claimed at least 200 supporters of Mr. Tsvangirai prompting him to pull out of the 2008 presidential runoff.
Documents presented by MDC-T deputy chairman Morgan Komichi’s lawyers in court obtained from the finance ministry show that the country has a force of not more than 44,000.
But police chief Augustine Chihuri applied for 70,000 forms of which only a 1,000 were not returned to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
Attorney Lewis Uriri, representing Komichi, told reporters that the number of officers in the country will not be made public.
The MDC-T says it thinks inflating the number of police officers who voted in the special vote conducted this week was one of the many ways that Zanu PF intended to use to rig the July 31 polls.
Judge president George Chiweshe reserved his ruling to Friday.
Meanwhile, President Robert Mugabe told his party’s supporters in Chinhoyi Thursday that the MDC should not concentrate on looking for problems in the electoral process but should just subject itself to elections saying power is derived from polls and not the courts.
Mr. Mugabe said he will not accept the foreign election observers from countries in the European Union because the bloc is still maintaining sanctions on him and other senior Zanu PF officials.
His wife, Grace, encouraged her party’s supporters, especially the youth, to desist from violence as the country gears for this year’s crucial elections.
Politically-motivated violence claimed at least 200 supporters of Mr. Tsvangirai prompting him to pull out of the 2008 presidential runoff.