Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, filed a court challenge on Friday against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s election victory, halting the President’s inauguration slated for Sunday.
The first election since Robert Mugabe was forced to resign after a coup in November last year had been expected to end Zimbabwe’s pariah status and launch an economic recovery but post-election unrest has reminded the country of its violent past, Reuters reported.
Chamisa’s lawyer, Thabani Mpofu, said he had asked the Constitutional Court to nullify the July 30 vote and that his application meant Mnangagwa’s swearing-in had been halted.
Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told Reuters Sunday’s inauguration “would 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.
“In the alternative, we seek that there be another election which complies with the dictates of the law.
“There is no inauguration that will take place until the matter is determined by the court,” Mpofu told journalists outside the court.
