MDC MP arrested for providing false address to Zec

By Shamiso Dzingire

Mount Pleasant MDC Member of Parliament Samuel Banda was yesterday arraigned in court over allegations of presenting a false residential address to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec).

Banda allegedly provided the false address during the National Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) exercise in December last year.

Using the alleged false address, Banda contested for the Mt Pleasant House of Assembly seat and won.

He is being charged with” making a false statement or fact in any claim or application for registration to vote knowing the statement to be false” as defined in the Electoral Act.

Banda was not asked to plead when he appeared before Harare Magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa who remanded him out of custody to December 3 on condition that he pays $50 bail.

Mugwagwa ordered Banda not to interfere with State witnesses and continue residing at his given address.

It is the State’s case that on December 28 last year and during the BVR exercise, Banda allegedly misrepresented to Zec that he was residing in Mt Pleasant in order for him to register as a voter in that constituency whilst he did not reside there.

It is alleged that Banda went on depose an affidavit of residence for voter registration to Zec’s Commissioner of Oaths purporting to be residing at in Mt Pleasant.

It is the state’s case that through the misrepresentation, Banda registered as a voter in the constituency where he contested as an MP and eventually won. DailyNews