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Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
The cash-strapped MDC-Alliance has extended a begging bowl to its supporters to pay for legal fees after the Constitutional Court (Concourt) dismissed with costs its petition against President Mnangagwa’s victory in the July 30 harmonised elections.

The appeal was made by the party’s deputy treasurer-general Mr Chalton Hwende writing on his Twitter page over the weekend.

“The 2,6 million that voted for #Chamisa have been challenged by an order of costs by the Constitutional Court. They will never break our spirit.

“The MDC kindly requests for donations by all #development and #peace loving Zimbabweans to support its costs in #Concourt case and at the African Commission,” reads part of the post by Mr Hwende.

The party has set up a “gofundme” account and an EcoCash merchant code. The Constitutional Court dismissed Mr Chamisa’s challenge to President Mnangagwa’s victory after he failed to prove his allegation of vote rigging. zanu-pf has said their lawyers were quantifying the amount of money due to them, but expected it to be around $3 million. The court’s decision was unanimous.

“In the final analyses, the court finds that the applicant has failed to place before it clear, direct, sufficient and credible evidence that the irregularities he alleges marred the electoral process.

“In other words, there was no proof of these irregularities as a matter of fact.

“There would, therefore, be no purpose for this court to go further and enquire. It is a question whether such irregularities materially affected the election results as already indicated it is an internationally accepted principle of election disputes that an election is not set aside easily mainly on the basis that irregularities occurred. There is a presumption of validity of an election.

“It is so because the election was conducted substantially in terms of a Constitution and governing laws it should have affected the will of the people. It is not for the court to decide elections, it is the people.

“It is a duty of the court to strive in the public interest to sustain that which the people have expressed their will in.

“Therefore their application ought to be dismissed,’’ read part of the judgment by Chief Justice Luke Malaba.

Mr Chamisa has refused to accept defeat. He is on record even before the elections were held, vowing to make Zimbabwe ungovernable if the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission did not declare him winner of the July 30 elections.