Zimbabwe’s High Court on Monday refused to order the immediate release of delayed results from a March 29 presidential election, in a major blow to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Rejecting an MDC application to force the electoral commission to release the result, Judge Tendai Uchena said: ”I dismiss the case with costs.”
The MDC says its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, defeated President Robert Mugabe in the vote, ending his 28-year rule. It went to the High Court after a long delay in issuing the result by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
The opposition says Mugabe is holding back the presidential result to allow him time to prepare a violent response to his biggest electoral setback, when the ruling Zanu-PF lost control of Parliament in a parallel vote on March 29.
MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said: ”Naturally we are very disappointed because I think we have a very strong case. We are going to decide the way forward after meeting our lawyers, but in our view the release of those results is very, very urgent.”
Southern African leaders said after a summit in Lusaka at the weekend that the election result should be released ”expeditiously”.
Further delays are expected because of legal manoeuvres and a recount of votes in 23 constituencies ordered by the ZEC.
Zanu-PF says neither Tsvangirai nor Mugabe won the necessary absolute majority in the presidential vote and a run-off will be necessary.
The delays have stoked tension in the Southern African nation.
The MDC and international human rights organisations say Mugabe has unleashed militias in a campaign of violence around the country to intimidate opposition supporters ahead of a run-off.
The MDC says hundreds of villagers have been forced out of their homes by militia attacks and at least 50 needed medical treatment. — Reuters