Court clears road for Mnangagwa’s inauguration, Chamisa loses case

"Therefore, the application ought to be dismissed and a result the following order is made, the application is dismissed with costs, in terms of section 93 (4) paragraph two of the constitution, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa is duly declared the victor of the Presidential elections held on the 30th of July 2018", declared Malaba.

Zimbabwe's main opposition is expressing concern over reports that preparations have begun for the inauguration of President Emmerson Mnangagwa even before the constitutional court has ruled on its challenge to the election results.

Chamisa's opposition group, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance, had brought the legal challenge saying that July 30's vote was marred by "mammoth theft and fraud".

However, the court found the party failed to produce credible evidence and declared Mnangagwa the duly elected president.

Chamisa insisted he won the election, adding he "will not allow" Mnangagwa's Zanu-PF Party to "bastardize the results".

"There would therefore have been no objective for this court to go further and inquire into the question as to whether such irregularities materially affected the election result", said Malaba who read the abridged judgement on Friday afternoon.

The election, in which Mnangagwa and Chamisa were the main contenders, was touted as a crucial step towards shedding Zimbabwe's pariah reputation and securing worldwide donor funding to revive an economy suffering chronic shortages of investment and cash, as well as high unemployment.

Mnangagwa has spoken to the nation on state television and called for calm.

The US said further reforms were necessary to meet standards Zimbabweans expect, deserve and which reflect regional and worldwide best practices for democratic elections.

Derek Matyszak, a legal expert at the University of Zimbabwe, had predicted that the opposition faced an uphill struggle given the courts' historic tilt towards ZANU-PF, which has ruled since independence from British colonial rule in 1980.

Nelson Chamisa got 44,3% of the vote.

"I won the court case before it began", Mnangagwa said on the sidelines of a regional summit in Namibia at the weekend.

A widely condemned army crackdown in response to post-election violence by opposition supporters left six people dead on August 1, recalling the heavy-handed security tactics that marked Mugabe's 37-year rule.

Security is tight in the capital, Harare, as the court will determine whether President Emmerson Mnangagwa's narrow victory is valid.

The MDC's appeal, which was lodged hours before the deadline on August 10, has already forced Mnangagwa's inauguration - planned for August 12 - to be postponed.

The court's ruling can not be appealed.