Court unanimously upholds president’s win

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s top court Friday upheld the narrow and disputed election victory by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, clearing the way for his inauguration as the country remained deeply divided in the post-Robert Mugabe era.

Mnangagwa, a former Mugabe enforcer who has tried to restyle himself as a reformer, will be sworn in Sunday. He appealed for calm and told opposition challenger Nelson Chamisa “my door is open and my arms are outstretched.”

The opposition, wary after a deadly military crackdown on protests after the election, initially said it would respect the ruling but later issued an angry statement rejecting the decision and saying it entrenched “an illegitimate regime.”

Zimbabwe’s electoral commission had declared Mnangagwa the winner of the July 30 balloting with 50.8 percent of the vote. It later revised it to 50.6 percent, citing an “error” but arguing it was not significant enough to invalidate the win. It said Chamisa received 44.3 percent.

The opposition alleged there was widespread vote-rigging, saying the electoral commission increased Mnangagwa’s figures through double counts and the creation of “ghost” polling stations. In bringing its case to the Constitutional Court, it had sought a new vote or a declaration that Chamisa had won.

But in its unanimous ruling, which along with the lawyers’ arguments in the case was broadcast live on state-run television, the court said the opposition failed to show “sufficient and credible evidence” to back up claims of irregularities. It said the electoral commission had “debunked to some degree” those and other claims.

Security was tight in the capital, Harare, and streets remained calm. Some people celebrated outside the ruling ZANUPF party headquarters.

“I know you feel cheated, but take heart,” Chamisa told his supporters on Twitter, vowing the opposition would “rescue our beautiful Zimbabwe from the jaws of poverty, corruption & dishonesty.”

Douglas Mwonzora, secretary-general of Chamisa’s Movement for Democratic Change party, told reporters “this is the end of the road” for legal challenges.

“But we have other avenues. … We can demonstrate,” he added.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Supporters of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa celebrate Friday in Harare, Zimbabwe. The nation’s constitutional court on Friday unanimously upheld Mnangagwa’s narrow victory in last month’s historic election.