50 IRI/NDI Zimbabwe International Election Observation Mission Final Report Constitutional Court Petition On August 10, within the constitutionally prescribed seven-day period, the MDC Alliance submitted a petition challenging the ZEC’s proclamation of Mnangagwa as the elected president of Zimbabwe. The MDC Alliance argument was based on three principal components: 1. The MDC Alliance alleged specific constitutional law breaches, including a lack of ZEC independence, the ZEC’s failure to conduct the elections transparently and in accordance with the law, the failure of state-owned media to perform in accordance with the constitutional requirements, and the partisanship of the military; 2. The MDC Alliance argued that throughout the campaign there were violations of specific provisions of the election law; and 3. The petition questioned the actual numbers of votes received by Mnangagwa. The MDC Alliance presented a number of anomalies related to vote counting and tabulation, which it argued established that Mnangagwa did not receive the requisite 50 percent of the vote. After the submissions of written arguments by the relevant parties on an expedited schedule, the Constitutional Court held an unprecedented all-day hearing on August 22, which was broadcast live by ZBC in a transparent manner. The parties presented their respective arguments to the nine justices designated to hear the case, as well as to the broader population. The principal argument was whether the MDC Alliance had called into question enough votes to reduce Mnangagwa’s total below the 50 percent plus one threshold.76 Two days later, Chief Justice Malaba read the Court’s unanimous decision, which rejected Chamisa’s petition stating that the applicant failed to provide “clear, sufficient, direct, and credible evidence.” The Court concluded that the MDC Alliance had not shown that the alleged constitutional and election law violations had definitively affected the outcome and that the claim that the results were inaccurate had not been established.77 President Mnangagwa was sworn in to a new term as president on August 26.78 The new parliament was seated on September 18, with 16 petitions challenging the outcome of the parliamentary elections still outstanding. Other Election Challenges ZIEOM observed electoral complaints at the four Electoral Courts (Harare, Masvingo, Mutare, and Bulawayo) and other election-related cases at the general division of the High Courts. The total number of challenges was less than anticipated given the broad range of public complaints that the opposition made regarding the results of the National Assembly elections. The Harare Electoral Court received a total of 41 electoral cases, 14 before Election Day and 27 after Election Day. Sixteen cases challenged the results for National Assembly seats, eight cases challenged the result for Local Council seats, and one challenged the result for the Provincial Assembly of Chief‘s seat. The Bulawayo Electoral Court received a total of five electoral cases, with two 76 MDC Alliance alleged that a number of mathematical errors affected the validity of the results, including a difference of more than 40,000 more votes cast for the president than for the National Assembly election; differences between V11 and V23 forms in favor of the incumbent; more than 100 percent voter turnout in some polling stations in favor of the incumbent by 31,204 votes; lack of results being posted at 21 percent of polling stations and double tabulation of results at some stations. 77 Notably, the Court did not impugn the ZEC, claiming ZEC provided sufficient evidence to refute all allegations. The Court ultimately dismissed the petition with costs, as prescribed by law, to the applicant. 78 allAfrica, “Angolan Vice-President at Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa Inauguration,” August 2018, https://allafrica.com/ stories/201808270521.html