Zimbabwean lawmakers have upheld plans to charge candidates for president $20,000 to appear on the ballot, and those running for parliament $1,000, despite a bid by the opposition to reduce the fees before a deadline next week for candidates to register.
The fees, denominated in U.S. dollars, are a 20-fold increase from fees charged in the previous elections in 2018.
During a debate on Wednesday, parliamentarians of the ruling ZANU-PF party said the policy would ensure that only strong candidates run for office.
They secured parliament's approval of the measure after the Constitutional Court ruled last week that lawmakers must debate it, Reuters news agency reports.
The opposition party Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) said the measure would undermine the right to stand for office, and had sought to reduce the fees in time for the 21 June registration deadline.
Zimbabwe will hold its presidential and parliamentary elections on Aug. 23, battling a raging economic crisis.
'Anti-poor policy'
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, elected in 2018 will be seeking a second term in office.
The 80-year-old's main rival is lawyer and pastor Nelson Chamisa, 45, who leads the newly formed Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party. He narrowly lost to Mnangagwa in 2018.
"Nomination fees that discriminate against citizens based on their economic status and shut out the poor and marginalised violate... the Constitution," Fadzayi Mahere, spokeswoman for the CCC told AFP.
Zimbabwe goes to the polls on August 23 to elect a president and the members of parliament.
It is not just presidential candidates who will have to pay more to stand for office.
Aspiring members of the National Assembly and Senate will also have to pay $1,000 -- compared to $50 five years ago, according fees announced by the government last year.
Opposition parties argue that the steep fee rises will favour the ruling ZANU-PF party, which they say has more resources.
"What's beyond doubt is that ZANU-PF is continuously anti-poor and trying to close citizen representatives out," Mahere said. Candidates approved for the crucial vote will be announced on June 21.
