Emmerson Mnangagwa, the president of Zimbabwe, is about to take the oath of office for a second term.
According to official figures, he received over 53% of the vote in a presidential election that international observers deemed to be undemocratic. Nearly two-thirds of the parliamentary votes went to his Zanu-PF party.
CCC’s Nelson Chamisa, Mnangagwa’s biggest rival, has demanded new elections. He has until Monday to request that the court reverse the verdicts.
Several heads of state have said they will attend Mnangagwa’s inauguration, and the red carpet has been spread out.
The government is certain that everything will go as expected. An official, however, informed the newsmen that the ceremony might be postponed if the opposition filed their court application before it.
The Citizens’ Coalition for Change, led by Chamisa, has declared Mnangagwa’s election victory to be fraudulent, though it hasn’t formally announced that it will go to court.
Mnangagwa’s goals for stronger international re-engagement and an economic turnaround are likely to be hampered by the severe criticism that international observers have leveled at his election victory.
However, the presence of some regional leaders is probably going to provide Mnangagwa some of the legitimacy he seeks.