Donald Trump Barred From 2024 Elections Just Like They Did Kasukuwere
Colorado’s top court ruled on Tuesday that former President Donald J. Trump is disqualified from holding office again because he engaged in insurrection leading up to the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol, an explosive ruling that injected more legal uncertainty into the 2024 presidential race and could put the basic contours of the election in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The 4-3 decision in the Colorado Supreme Court found that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment — which disqualifies from office those who engage in insurrection against the Constitution after taking an oath to support it — applies to Mr. Trump, making him ineligible to be listed on the state’s presidential primary ballot.
In 2018, the Colorado supreme court barred another politician from the ballot: Representative Doug Lamborn, a longtime congressman who represents Colorado Springs. The court said then that Lamborn had not collected enough valid signatures from voters in order to get on the ballot, but a federal court disagreed and eventually reinstated Lamborn, who won the election.
In a statement on social media last night, Lamborn said the Colorado Supreme Court had erred in both his case and Trump’s. “I look forward to this case going to federal courts that understand the Constitution so they can overturn this decision,” he wrote.
Kasukuwere Barred From Contesting Zimbabwe Elections
The stakes are reminiscent of exiled former cabinet MInister Saviour Kasukuwere who was barred by the courts from running in Zimbabwe’s 2023 presidential election.
Mr Kasukuwere was a Minister in former President Mugabe’s government until November 2017 when Mr Mugabe was compelled to resign and Mr Kasukuwere left the country in fear for his life. He returned later but for some time now he has been living in South Africa. Earlier this year he announced that he intended to stand as a candidate for President in the August general election, and on the 21st June his agents presented his nomination papers at the nomination court in Harare. His nomination was accepted [which means Zimbabwe Electoral Commission [ZEC] must have checked that his name was on the voters roll] and his name duly appeared on the list of presidential candidates published by ZEC on the 30th June.
A Mr Lovedale Mangwana challenged the nomination. He filed an urgent application in the High Court for an order that Mr Kasukuwere was disqualified for nomination as a candidate in terms of section 91 of the Constitution since he was not a registered voter, having been out of the country for more than 18 consecutive months. The High Court heard the application on the 7th July and, as we have said, granted it on the 12th.
According to the Judge, the applicant’s argument was essentially that Mr Kasukuwere had been absent from his constituency for more than 18 months and as a consequence:
- He was no longer a registered voter because section 23(3) of the Electoral Act states:
- “A voter who is registered on the voters roll for a constituency … shall not be entitled to have his or her name retained on such roll if, for a continuous period of eighteen months, he or she has ceased to reside in that constituency”.
- He was not qualified to be elected as President because section 91(1)(d) of the Constitution states:
“A person qualifies for election as President … if he or she—
…
(d) is registered as a voter.”
Since he was not registered as a voter he was disqualified from being elected as President and should not have been nominated.
The applicant claimed that by accepting the nomination papers of an unqualified candidate, the nomination court had infringed his (the applicant’s) constitutional rights, namely:
- his right under section 56(1) of the Constitution to equal protection and benefit of the law, and
- his rights under section 67 of the Constitution to free, fair and regular elections and to participate in peaceful activities to influence or support the policies of the Government or any other cause.
