Zimbabwe: Movement for Democratic Change’s Morgan Tsvangirai withdraws election challenge
The swearing-in ceremony for long-time Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe can go ahead after the main opposition party withdrew a court challenge to last month’s disputed election results.
The Movement for Democratic Change said it had not received election material needed to corroborate its claims that the vote was rigged and it would not receive a fair hearing.
“The prime minister has withdrawn his election petition," MDC spokesman Douglas Mwonzora said of outgoing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's decision.
"The main reason is that this trial was going to be a mockery of justice. We have tried to make use of the legal process and it has proved to be impossible."
Tsvangirai, who served as prime minister in a unity government with Mugabe after the 2008 elections, had rejected the results of the July 31 poll, which gave Mugabe 61 percent of the votes, and had called for a new election.
His party claimed hundreds of thousands of eligible voters were prevented from voting and ballots were cast in the names of people who were deceased.
More from GlobalPost: Mugabe: my opponents can ‘go hang’ themselves
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!