Zimbabwe’s top court will on Friday decide whether President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s disputed July 30 election victory should stand against complaints by his main rival that it was rigged. The election, in which Mnangagwa and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa were the main contenders, was touted as a crucial step toward economic recovery and shedding Zimbabwe’s pariah reputation, but instead has left the nation deeply polarized. An army crackdown in response to post-election violence by opposition supporters left six people dead on Aug. 1, recalling the heavyhanded security tactics that marked the 37-year rule of Robert Mugabe, who was removed in a coup last November.
The Constitutional Court planned to deliver its judgment on the opposition challenge at 2 p.m. (1200 GMT).
Zimbabwe’s constitution requires that if Mnangagwa is confirmed the winner, he should be inaugurated by Sunday.
Chamisa’s lawyers accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of inflating Mnangagwa’s vote tally by 69,000 to avoid a runoff, and that the ZEC’s revision of the results was sufficient evidence that fraud occurred.
Full Article: Zimbabwe court set to rule on presidential election petition | Reuters.