Court upholds leader’s narrow election victory
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s constitutional court on Friday unanimously upheld President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s narrow victory in last month’s historic election after the opposition alleged vote-rigging, saying “sufficient and credible evidence” had not been produced.
The inauguration will be on Sunday in the capital, Harare, as a still deeply divided Zimbabwe moves into a new era after Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule.
Mnangagwa quickly called for calm and told 40-year-old opposition challenger Nelson Chamisa “my door is open and my arms are outstretched.” Chamisa’s party said it would respect the court’s ruling but noted: “The sombre mood in the country in the wake of today’s court verdict is in itself a telling statement.”
Speaking on state television, Mnangagwa called the election the most transparent and credible in the country’s history. Mugabe’s long rule had been marked by harassment of the opposition and rigged votes.
After the ruling a lawyer for the opposition, Thabani Mpofu, told reporters “it’s up to you to conclude” if justice had been served. “Good fight,” he added, walking away.
“As far as the legal processes are concerned, this is the end of the road,” said the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party’s secretary-general, Douglas Mwonzora. “But we have other avenues ... we can demonstrate.”
Security was tight in the capital amid concerns about possible unrest. After the ruling, the streets remained calm while some people celebrated outside the ruling ZANU-PF party headquarters.
The July 30 vote was peaceful, but scenes of the military sweeping into the capital two days later to disperse opposition protesters — six people were killed — led to fears that Mnangagwa’s government was stuck in the past despite declarations of reforms.
The 75-year-old Mnangagwa, a former enforcer for Mugabe, took power after Mugabe stepped down in November under military pressure. While the public at first cheered the military for its role in removing Mugabe, feelings cooled closer to the election as the opposition worried about its potential influence during the vote.
A credible election in Zimbabwe is key to lifting international sanctions on the onceprosperous southern African nation.
Mnangagwa welcomed dozens of Western election observers for the first time in nearly two decades. The observers offered mixed reviews, noting an election day with few issues but expressing concerns about the delay in announcing the presidential results; they were the first to be counted.
In a statement after the court ruling, the European Union delegation in Zimbabwe urged all sides to call for “calm and restraint in both victory and defeat” and called the recent increase in politically motivated human rights violations “unacceptable.”
The court on Friday said it was up to the opposition to prove its claims and it failed to do so, saying the best evidence would have been the content of the sealed ballot boxes but that route was not pursued.