'COURT MUST DISMISS CHAMISA'S ELECTION PETITION'

HARARE - Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF lawyers have reportedly claimed that the country's main opposition party missed the deadline to submit its petition over the country's recently held elections.

According to The Sunday Mail, the lawyers said that the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)'s court application should, therefore, be dismissed.

Lawyers for the MDC arrived at court less than an hour before the deadline on Friday - to submit papers alleging the July 30 vote was rigged.

They were accompanied by Jameson Timba, the chief election agent for the party led by Nelson Chamisa, reported the Associated Press.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had declared President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the ruling Zanu-PF party as the winners, with Mnangagwa having received 50.8 percent of the vote.

The court filing delayed Mnangagwa's inauguration that had been planned for Sunday.

The ruling party also argued that the papers were not served at the address the presidentelect provided to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission for purposes of the election.

The state-owned newspaper said that the bulk of the 23 presidential candidates who were also respondents on the MDC Alliance court case had not been served with any legal papers. A report by the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), said that

Nelson Chamisa the 12 lawyers who were set to Mangwana said the party was represent the ruling party were ready to file its papers in what expected to file responding he described as the "party's court papers yesterday. commitment to safeguard the

Zanu-PF secretary for legal interest of electorate." affairs, Munyaradzi Paul