DHAKA:  Emmerson Mnangagwa took the oath as Zimbabwe’s president in front of a stadium crowd on Sunday (August 26) after a divisive election, as U.S. observers of that vote questioned the country’s democratic credentials.

The Constitutional Court confirmed Mnangagwa as president in a ruling released on Friday, dismissing a challenge by the man he defeated in the July 30 ballot, opposition leader Nelson Chamisa.

Thousands of people, some bussed in from outside the capital, and foreign leaders gathered at Harare’s national stadium for the swearing-in of Mnangagwa, who just secured the 50 percent of votes he needed to avoid a runoff against Chamisa.

He took the oath before Chief Justice Luke Malaba who, together with eight other Constitutional Court judges had dismissed Chamisa’s petition.

The election was touted as a crucial step toward shedding the pariah reputation Zimbabwe gained under Mnangagwa’s predecessor Robert Mugabe, and securing international donor funding to revive a crippled economy.

BDST: 1812 HRS, AUG 26, 2018

AH