Zimbabwe ruling party files opposing papers against opposition bid to nullify presidential election result

HARARE, Aug. 15 — Zimbabwean ruling ZANU-PF on Wednesday filed papers at the Constitutional Court opposing the application made by the opposition MDC-Alliance’s Nelson Chamisa seeking to nullify the result of the presidential election won by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Chamisa wants the court to either declare him winner or order a re-run of the presidential election.
Lead lawyer Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana said the opposition party did not have a case and was merely grandstanding.
He said that he was confident that the Constitutional Court would deal with the matter soon to pave the way for Mnangagwa’s inauguration.
“He has to be inaugurated because he is a legitimately elected President of this country,” he said.
Lewis Uriri, also representing Mnangagwa, said the opposition did not have evidence of what it was alleging were irregularities in the July 30 election in which Mnangagwa won 50.8 percent of the votes against Chamisa’s 44.3 percent.
“They are no more than clowns coming to court to play the game that ought to be played elsewhere. It’s a waste of the time of the people of Zimbabwe; yet it’s their right to be heard and we have no doubt that they will fail to prove what they allege because they have no evidence of what they allege,” he said.
Mnangagwa was due to be inaugurated on Aug. 12 but the legal action taken by the opposition two days earlier scuttled the plans.
The Constitutional Court has up to 14 days to come up with a ruling and if anyone is declared winner of the presidential election, he will be inaugurated in the following 48 hours. – XINHUA