HARARE magistrate Anita Tshuma is Tuesday expected to hear a bail application by incarcerated MDC-T deputy national chairman Morgan Komichi who was arrested Sunday on charges of electoral fraud.

Human rights lawyer Tarisai Munangi told NewZimbabwe.com Monday that the MDC-T chief elections agent appeared briefly in court late Monday afternoon but the presiding magistrate asked for more time to consider the submissions brought forward by the State and his lawyers.

"He is still in custody. We made a bail application today but the magistrate did not have time to consider the State and our submissions as he (Komichi) appeared in court well after 4 pm," said Mutangi.

"He is mainly charged with fraud. It is fraud arising out an electoral provision."

Komichi, who is also Deputy Minister of Transport in the current inclusive government, was arrested Sunday after he had taken a stray ballot paper cast in his party's favour to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

He claimed it was picked up from a dust bin by an anonymous MDC-T sympathiser at the Harare International Conference Centre where ZEC is currently based for the election period.

At a press briefing Sunday, police chief spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba insisted Komichi remained their prime suspect until he revealed the source of the document.

ZEC has since denied being responsible for any leaks while questioning the credibility of the MDC-T claims.

Police said Komichi was being charged with contravening a section of the country's Electoral Act.

But his lawyers insisted the charges against Tsvangirai's top aide were not going to stick.

"With evidence produced so far, he does not have any case to answer unless if they stumble upon further evidence, something which we cannot foresee. But currently we don't see them getting anywhere with the charges," said Mutangi.

The human rights lawyer said they would not readily conclude Komichi's arrest was an act of political persecution saying political harassment was difficult to detect as "it is usually clothed in criminal charges".

"But given the current situation where we are facing an election, we cannot rule out this could be the case," he said.

Michael Mugabe from the Attorney General's Office and Jonathan Murombedzi appeared for the State while Mutangi and Andrew Makoni, both from ZLHR, form Komichi's defence.

In a statement Monday the MDC-T said: "What (we) find puzzling is that Honourable Komichi was arrested when he is the one who made a complaint to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on how the ballot paper had found its way into the dustbin."