Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court on Tuesday sanctioned last month's general election, paving the way for President Robert Mugabe to be sworn in later this week for a fresh five-year term at the helm of the southern African nation, according to dpa. "The election held on July 31 was in accordance with the laws of Zimbabwe. That said election was free, fair and credible," Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku told a packed courtroom. "Robert Gabriel Mugabe is hereby declared winner of the election," the judge added. Mugabe, 89, will be sworn in on Thursday for a sixth term as president, and previously served as prime minister. He has led Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. He won a landslide 60 per cent of the vote, while his Zanu-PF party received a two-third majority in parliament, according to official results. The rival Movement for Democratic Change party, headed by outgoing premier Morgan Tsvangirai, has charged that the election was rigged.
