ZANU contests key victory by opposition

Zimbabwe’s ruling party has filed an application to the High Court to challenge the victory of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in a key mayoral election, officials said on Thursday. Jacob Chademana, who represented ZANU-PF in the mayoral contest in Masvingo earlier this month, said the MDC had won fraudulently. “We have gone to court because it is my belief that some of the voters had physical addresses which were non-existent within the Masvingo municipal area,” he told reporters. Chademana lost to Alois Chaimiti of the MDC, whose election made him the first opposition executive mayor in the country. Analysts told Reuters that the opposition victory in the southern city was a clear warning to President Robert Mugabe ahead of presidential elections next year.