Court to rule on Zimbabwe election petition

A petition claiming that the recent Zimbabwean elections were rigged will face the country’s top court Friday, when judges will determine whether to proceed with an appeal from the president’s contender, according to a Reuters report.

In November 2017, Emmerson Mnangagwa replaced former president Robert Mugabe after facing pressure to step down. Since then, 75% of voters selected Mnangagwa to remain in power but opposition insists that the voting process was held on an “un-level playing field,” a party spokesperson told The Guardian.

Violence erupted in the streets of the landlocked country’s capital Harare, leaving three people dead, the New York Times reported.

Following protests, the opposition party’s leader Nelson Chamisa has accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of adding 69,000 votes to Mnangagwa’s ballot. He maintains that ZEC’s amendments to the votes serve as proof of fraud.

But Mnangagwa’s lawyers contend Chamisa’s claims, stating that the evidence furnished is not tangible.

The 2018 election was a critical one for the embattled country. For years, the people of Zimbabwe have advocated for peace, security and basic human rights. Since 1980, the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (better known as ZANU–PF) party has remained in power.

“We support Chamisa and we want him to be our president. The electoral commission is not fair. Our election is being stolen,” a protester told The Guardian.

If Mnangagwa stays in power, he must face the challenge of uprooting a more fruitful state of being for Zimbabwe’s 16 million people. If he remains, intergovernmental organizations and other world leaders will monitor closely to see if he will uphold his promises in revitalizing Zimbabwe’s weakened economy. According to data compiled by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Zimbabwe on its annual gross domestic product (GDP) compared to its international competitors.

Reuters observed that some Zimbabweans are withdrawing funds from the bank out of fear they will lose it. The country’s lack of foreign investments is partly to blame for its current economic crisis.

“I don’t think it (ruling) will change anything. I have a feeling they will find a way to say the result is correct,” Zacharia Chinowota told Reuters after withdrawing $40 from a local bank.

Meanwhile, analysts predict that it is highly unlikely that Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court will call for another election.