HARARE – MDC Alliance leader, Nelson Chamisa, filed a court challenge on Friday against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s election victory, a move that would delay Mnangagwa’s inauguration that had been slated for this Sunday.
Chamisa’s legal team led by Chris Mhike arrived at the Constitutional Court in Harare just minutes before the 4PM cut-off time for the appeal to be lodged.
All the 22 other presidential election candidates were cited as respondents, along with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), which Chamisa has accused of “cooking” results to give Mnangagwa a narrow win in the July 30 election, whose result was announced in the early hours of August 3.
“Our legal team successfully filed our court papers. We have a good case and cause!” Chamisa said on Twitter moments after the lawyers successfully filed his petition.
Mnangagwa was declared winner with 50.8 percent of the vote share, while Chamisa had 44.3 percent while 21 other candidates shared the remaining 4.9 percent. Mnangagwa avoided a runoff by just over 38,000 votes.
Chamisa’s lead lawyer on the case, Advocate Thabani Mpofu, said he had asked the Constitutional Court to nullify the July 30 vote and that his court application meant Mnangagwa’s swearing-in had been halted.
Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said Sunday’s inauguration “will no longer happen” until the case is finalised.
“On the basis of the evidence we have placed before the court, we seek in the main relief to the effect that the court should declare the proper winner and the proper winner is my client,” Mpofu told reporters outside court.
“In the alternative, we seek that there be another election which complies with the dictates of the law,” Mpofu said. “There is no inauguration that will take place until the matter is determined by the court.”
The constitution requires a losing presidential candidate to file a challenge within seven days of a winner being declared.
The Constitutional Court, which can declare a new winner or order a fresh election, must rule within 14 days of an election petition.
Last month, Mnangagwa secured a narrow victory, according to results from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, polling 2.46 million votes against 2.15 million for the 40-year-old Chamisa. The opposition said the result was rigged.
The election passed off relatively smoothly but its aftermath revealed the deep rifts in Zimbabwean society and the instinctive heavy-handedness of the security forces.
Two days after the vote, seven people were killed in an army crackdown on protests against delays in announcing the Presidential election result, a reminder that Zimbabwe will struggle to repair its image as a nation known for repression and economic collapse.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission said it was concerned that no one was taking responsibility for the deployment of soldiers that the MDC Alliance says were harassing its supporters and ordinary citizens in townships at night.
“This poses an even bigger danger to communities as it appears that the soldiers beating up civilians are not accountable to anyone,” the commission said.
Earlier, top MDC Alliance leader and former finance minister Tendai Biti appeared in court to challenge his arrest on Thursday on charges of public violence and illegally announcing election results. The case was postponed to next Wednesday.
