The High Court in Zimbabwe was to rule on Monday on whether to order the immediate release of results of a March 29 presidential election in a judgement that could plunge the country into a general strike.
All eyes will be on Justice Tendai Uchena as he decides whether to agree to an opposition request for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to immediately declare the result or allow the wait for the outcome to stretch to the weekend.
A ruling was expected from about 12.30pm GMT.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), whose leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has already claimed victory over President Robert Mugabe, is planning to stage a general strike on Tuesday if results are not released by then.
Experts believe there is little likelihood of the court ruling in favour of the opposition demand or any such order being respected by the commission.
”There is a possibility that the court could rule that the results should be released within four hours as demanded by the MDC, but the ZEC lawyer has already said ordering a release of the results could be dangerous,” said Harare-based commentator Charles Mangongera.
”That means there is a chance that the ZEC might not comply with the ruling. So if the court says yes, it might turn out to be a mere academic decision.”
Southern African leaders who met in Zambia over the weekend to discuss the impasse merely called for the results to be announced ”expeditiously”, saying the matter should be decided by the courts and the electoral commission.
The opposition says it has no faith in the commission after it ordered a partial recount of results, which could see Mugabe’s party regain control of Parliament.
The MDC has also mounted a legal challenge to the recount order, which in theory could lead to Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party regaining control of Parliament.
Elder statesman
At Saturday’s emergency summit in Lusaka, regional leaders discussed the post-election impasse long into the night, but were always unlikely to find a swift solution after Mugabe decided to stay away.
They stopped short of criticising the Zimbabwean government or Mugabe, who was not even mentioned in a four-page joint statement.
Regional leaders have been chided for their traditional reluctance to speak out against Mugabe, seen by many as an elder statesman who still deserves respect for his role in winning Zimbabwe’s independence.
Nevertheless many are fed up with the economic mess on their doorstep with inflation in Zimbabwe now well into six figures, unemployment at more than 80% and average life expectancy down to 36 years of age.
Zimbabwe’s opposition urged South African President Thabo Mbeki to ditch his policy of quiet diplomacy after he was asked by regional leaders at the weekend to continue his role.
Mbeki was chief mediator between the governing Zanu-PF party and Tsvangirai’s MDC in the build-up to the election, but has come under fire for his policy of quiet diplomacy.
On his way to Lusaka to join other leaders and delegations of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC), Mbeki dropped in on Harare and held his first face-to-face talks with Mugabe since the disputed elections.
”The body authorised to release the results is the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, let’s wait for them to announce the results,” he told journalists afterwards, insisting there was ”no crisis” in his northern neighbour.
Meanwhile, a British national and an American journalist charged with reporting on Zimbabwe’s election without official accreditation were due to appear in Harare Magistrate Court later on Monday. — AFP
