Supreme Court hears re-election case

Lawyers for Zimbabwe’s main opposition party argued on Friday that President Robert Mugabe violated the constitution when he issued a decree banning lawsuits over disputed election results, the Associated Press reported. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), at a hearing in the nation’s highest court, said Mugabe abused his presidential powers to protect his ruling party from litigation that could prove it illegally won the June parliamentary elections through corruption, vote buying, vote rigging, violence and intimidation. The opposition is contesting 38 of the 120 parliamentary districts polled in contentious elections.

Attorney Chris Andersen told the nation’s five Supreme Court judges that Mugabe issued the decree to serve his own personal interests and not those of the electorate as a whole. Mugabe decreed last month that no court hearings could be held to invalidate disputed election results. His official notice said poll results could not be contested "the interest of democracy, peace, security and stability" even if voting irregularities had been established.