HARARE: Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will hold elections by the end of July in line with a court order, angering rivals who want them delayed to allow for reforms to ensure a fair vote, state media reported yesterday.
The Constitutional Court ruled on Friday that parliamentary and presidential polls must take place before July 31 and that Mugabe must set a date for them before parliament’s term ends on June 29, stoking a political row over the timing and funding of the vote in the southern African state.
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation quoted Mugabe as saying he would comply with the court decision and would set the date after consulting Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa.
The court ruling followed an application by rights activist Jealousy Mawarire demanding that Mugabe, 89 and in power since independence from Britain in 1980, call elections this month.
Reuters
