ZIMBABWE’S High Court said on Friday that all challenges lodged by the ruling party and the opposition to parliamentary results from the March 29, 2008 harmonised elections would be completed within a six-month period.
The two parties filed legal challenges with the Electoral Court to half of the parliamentary results.
The ruling Zanu PF party is contesting 53 of the 210 constituencies while the opposition Movement for Democratic Change is disputing 52.
Rita Makarau, judge president of the High Court, in a meeting attended by judges and lawyers said that there will be no delay beyond six months in resolving the contested constituencies.
The six month period is the maximum stipulated period in Zimbabwe’s electoral law to complete the cases.
"All electoral petitions must be held within six months. We owe it to Zimbabwe to complete the cases within six months."
Makarau said that the Electoral Court might deny extensions in the period so all lawyers had to meet the deadline.
"We are not going to allow postponements that take more than six months," said Makarau.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is yet to announce the date for a second round of the presidential poll which Tsvangirai is threatening to boycott after insisting he secured the required 50-percent plus one threshold in the original ballot.
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